CNN
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Jannik Sinner was strong at the decisive moment and beat American Tommy Paul 7:6(3), 7:6(5) and 6:1 at Arthur Ashe Stadium on Monday evening to advance to the quarterfinals of the US Open.

The world number one from Italy, who recovered from a two-break deficit in the first set, extended his match-winning streak to eight and equalled his previous best result at the US Open when he reached the quarterfinals in 2022.

The 23-year-old Sinner became the eighth male singles player since 2000 to reach at least the quarterfinals of all four Grand Slam events in a calendar year.

“I felt like neither of us played our best tennis,” Sinner said in his on-court interview after his win against Paul, the 14th seed.

“It was a bit windy, a bit breezy, so we tried to find our rhythm a bit. I found it a bit at the end of the game, but I can be very proud today. It was a tough opponent, so I’m very happy to be in the next round.”

Sinner’s victory sets up a thrilling quarterfinal in New York with 2021 US Open champion No. 5 Daniil Medvedev, who had earlier defeated Portuguese Nuno Borges 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 earlier that day.

The upcoming clash on Wednesday has the character of a final, as with Sinner and Medvedev there are only two major champions left in the men’s singles.

“Tough match. There will be a lot of rallies, so hopefully I’ll be physically ready,” Sinner said on the court about the duel with the Russian. “It will be a physical match, but also a mental one.”

Medvedev leads Sinner 7-5 in head-to-head matches, but Sinner has won five of his last six, including a two-set deficit to win his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

Medvedev won their last meeting, a five-set match in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in July.

“I’ll try to think more about Wimbledon than the Australian Open,” said a smiling Medvedev, speaking to reporters before Sinner’s night match against Paul.

“But against Jannik we had a few tough matches. … I feel like we know our game in a way, we know what we’re going to bring to the table, and then it always comes down to, you know, the deuce in that moment, the break point. Maybe I’m trying to surprise him or not, what he’s going to do, what I’m going to do.

“Hopefully, yeah, if he wins against Tommy, hopefully we can have a great match. I know if I want to beat him I have to be at my best, which I’ve done a few times. It’s going to be a great match.”

Sinner has previously participated in an epic US Open quarterfinal – and it was the latest finish to a match in the tournament’s history. In 2022, the Italian had a match point in the fourth set against Carlos Alcaraz. But after a marathon five hours and 15 minutes that ended at 2:50 a.m. ET, it was Alcaraz who continued, 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3. The Spaniard won his first Grand Slam title at age 19.

Paul put Sinner under pressure early on Monday evening.

The 27-year-old American thrilled the New York crowd when he broke Sinner in the 13th minute of play and won eleven points in a row in the first set to take a 4-1 lead.

But the 2024 Australian Open champion fought back from two breaks behind and quickly won 12 of the next 14 points and the next four games in a row before breaking away from Paul in the first set tiebreak.

The second set was closer, Paul fended off the only break point. But Sinner delivered again in the tiebreak.

The world number one made the early break in the second game of the third set with a fiery crosscourt forehand that Paul could not reach as Sinner hit the ball well over the baseline.

“I don’t think he played very well at the beginning of the match and then when I was 4-1 up I didn’t play very well either,” Paul told reporters. “I obviously had chances in the first set and then in the second, but he made the important points and I didn’t. I felt like that was the story of the match.”

In other men’s singles action on Monday, Britain’s Jack Draper continued his run with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-2 win over Czech Tomáš Macháč to reach his first major quarter-final. He is yet to drop a set in the tournament.

Meanwhile, in a duel between two Australians, number 10 Alex de Minaur – in his first tournament since Wimbledon – defeated Jordan Thompson 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5.

Sinner’s run comes against the backdrop of his recent doping case, which became public on August 20 – news that shocked the tennis world. Sinner, who avoided a ban after testing positive twice for traces of a banned substance, has said he has done nothing wrong.

One prominent player who has recently endorsed Sinner is Rafael Nadal, who said in an interview with the Spanish television show “El Hormiguero”: “I have a virtue or a fault, and that is that, in the end, I usually believe in people’s honesty.

“I know Sinner. I don’t think Sinner was trying to dope in any way. And one more thing: justice is ultimately justice, and I don’t think we should only like justice when things are resolved in a way that we agree with.

“At the end of the day, justice is justice, and I believe in justice, and I believe in the bodies that have to make the decisions and that they really make them based on what they believe is right.

“I trust that he was not punished because the judges in this case clearly stated that there was nothing to punish. In this case they saw very clearly that what was alleged was not sanctionable.

“I don’t think they wouldn’t punish him just because it’s Sinner, or that they would do it because it’s someone else. I believe that and I’m convinced of it. Of course, other people’s opinions are absolutely respectable, but, well, that’s my opinion.”