Tsitsipas punishes Sinner

Collins, Swiatek set semis duel

MELBOURNE, Australia – Stefanos Tsitsipas stormed into his third Australian Open semifinal with a blistering straight-sets victory over Jannik Sinner on Wednesday.

The Greek fourth seed played his best tennis yet in the year’s opening major to romp past the 11th-seeded Italian 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in two hours, six minutes.

It was a most impressive performance from the world No. 4 who grasped control of the quarterfinal on Rod Laver Arena with a break in Sinner’s opening service game and did not relinquish his firm grip.

“My humility helped a lot today, I knew I was going out on the court to face a very good player,” Tsitsipas said.

“I just focused on my very best shots and it paid off better than I thought. Stepping on the court and having the crowd support is truly unbelievable.”

Not even a rain interruption which forced the stadium roof to be closed and change match conditions early in the second set stopped the Tsitsipas momentum.

“It’s part of the game. I knew I was heading in the right direction,” Tsitsipas said.

“The conditions might have changed a bit but so did my mind. I tried to adapt. It just worked.”

Last year’s French Open finalist regained his timing and hit the ball majestically, reeling off 30 winners – 17 on his forehand – and breaking Sinner’s serve four times.

Sinner, rated one of the hottest young talents on the men’s circuit, did not get a break point in any of Tsitsipas’s 14 service games and was blown away.

Meanwhile, Danielle Collins and Iga Swiatek will meet in women’s semifinals after vastly contrasting wins in the last eight.

Collins swept past unseeded Alize Cornet, 7-5, 6-1, in just 88 minutes to match her run to the last four in 2019.

But seventh seed Swiatek had to fight back from a set down and a break down against unseeded Estonian Kaia Kanepi before finally coming out on top 4-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 after a marathon three-hour battle in energy-sapping heat.

“It feels incredible, especially after some of the health challenges that I have had,” said Collins, 28, who had “scary” surgery for endometriosis in April last year then tore her abdomen at the French Open.

“To be able to get back to this level and be able to compete the way I have and be as physical as I have has been so rewarding.”

Collins won her maiden WTA titles at San Jose and Palermo after recuperating.