Sinner goes past Rune to reach last four in Monte Carlo

Jannik Sinner kept his cool to reach his second consecutive semi-final at the ATP Masters 1000 event with a 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-3 triumph against Holger Rune.

The second-seeded Italian let slip six break points and two match points in the second set before prevailing in a hard-fought quarter-final clash in Monaco.

“It took a lot [to win this match],” said Sinner in his post-match interview. “Playing against him is never easy, especially on this kind of occasion, so I’m very happy I won today but mostly about the level I gave. I raised it today a little bit. It was more physical, there were more rallies today. My general feelings were better, so I’m very excited about tomorrow’s match.”

With his two-hour, 41-minute triumph, Sinner improved to 14-2 against Top 10 opponents since last September. Friday’s victory was his second in a row against Rune, whom he also defeated at the 2023 Nitto ATP Finals. The pair is now level at 2-2 in their Lexus ATP head2Head series.

Awaiting Sinner in the semi-finals will be Stefanos Tsitsipas, who earlier overcame Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-2. The No. 12 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Tsitsipas is a two-time champion in Monte-Carlo, where he will head into Saturday’s last four clash with an 18-3 record in the Principality.