Jannik Sinner battles past Alexander Zverev and recurring hip issue in Cincinnati marathon

Rain forced Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev to pause the first-set tiebreaker of their Cincinnati Open semifinal Sunday. Shortly after the two dusted off the cobwebs upon returning, virtually every line of the Stadium Court was painted in a dazzling display of shot-making that was the beginning of much to come in a dramatic Center Court showdown.

The world No. 1 would go on to save a pair of set points, then bounced back from an uninspiring second set ending to edge the No. 3 seed, 7-6 (9), 5-7, 7-6 (4), in three hours and eight minutes. Sinner now looks to make it 5-0 in finals this season as he bids for a third career ATP Masters 1000 hard-court crown.

Before the weather delay, Sinner shook off a break deficit and struggles with his right hip, a problem area that has bothered him throughout the season and will remain a question mark heading into Monday’s final. In the opening tie-break, Zverev first reached set point when Sinner’s forehand sailed long. That’s when the dueling players turned up the heat.

Letting a defensive lob bounce, the Italian’s overhead court the line in the corner of the ad court. Sinner’s approach shot on the following point skid off the baseline to move him ahead. Zverev followed suit with a pair of blistering aces on the T to create another set point.

How would Sinner respond? With an ace of his own out wide that by the slimmest of margins, caught the outside edge of the line. A sublime serve +1 put him back in front, before Zverev muscled his way to another change of ends at 9-9. But the German blinked in pushing a neutral backhand long, and watched the set evaporate when his opponent’s backhand volley proved out of reach.

Zverev struck first in the second when he moved ahead 3-1 on the back of a heavy crosscourt forehand, only to see Sinner reset in the following game to break back at love. The two held the rest of the way until 5-6, when Zverev created 0-40 by forcing a pair of errors with a crafty slice and change in direction on the backhand wing. Sinner dumped an overhead into the net to find himself back at square one.

The Australian Open champion’s hip problems resurfaced in the decider. He played through the discomfort, as Zverev continued to test his movement by working the corners. At 5-5, the two-time major runner-up held his nerve in a two-deuce game. Neither player would end up seeing a break point heading into the sudden death situation.

At 1-2, Zverev flubbed his second volley after Sinner hustled to retrieve the first. That miscue was all the top seed needed to work with. At 5-3, he secured a second mini break with a brilliant forehand return winner up the line. It proved imperative, as he needed the second match point to close the door. Sinner let out an elongated "come on!" after Zverev's backhand floated well long.

With the victory, Sinner defeated Zverev for just the second time in seven career meetings. He'll look to rest up and recover to face the winner of the second semifinal between Holger Rune and Frances Tiafoe.