By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Friday February 16, 2024
Jannik Sinner reached the semifinals in Rotterdam when Milos Raonic retired in the second set, allowing the Italian to become the first player born in the 2000s to reach 2000 career ATP wins.
Photo Source: Getty
Jannik Sinner advanced to the semifinals at the ABN Amro Open in Rotterdam when Milos Raonic retired early in the second set due to injury. It was an anti-climactic conclusion to a momentous achievement for the 22-year-old Italian.
With his 7-6(4), 1-1 RET victory over the Canadian, Sinner becomes the first player born in the 2000s to claim 2000 match wins on the ATP Tour.
Sinner had his hands full with Raonic, before he pulled the plug.
“For sure one of the toughest opponents to play against,” he said. “This is a very unusual challenge you have on court. He serves incredibly well.”
Sinner says he has yet to find his game in Rotterdam, due to the change in conditions.
“From the last two rounds I was struggling a little bit to find myself on the court,” Sinner said, “I felt like he was playing better than me in the first set. I just tried to stay in somehow, mentally, but at the end of the day this is not how I want to win this match – he had so many injuries throughout his career, and hopefully he is going to have a speedy recovery.”
100 wins or more, born in or after 2000, ATP
Sinner, 200-74
Auger-Aliassime 189-127
Alcaraz 160-44
Rune 102-66
Korda 100-65
Sinner becomes the seventh Italian man to secure 200 wins on tour as well.
Italian Men, 200 ATP Wins or More
Fabio Fognini, 414
Adriano Panatta 395
Andreas Seppi, 386
Corrado Barazzutti, 320
Renzo Furlan, 223
Andrea Gaudenzi, 219
Jannik Sinner, 200
He also stretches his current winning streak to 13, and improves to 10-0 on the season. The Italian started his 2024 campaign by claiming his maiden major title at the Australian Open, where he became the first Italian man to win a major men’s singles title since 1976.
Sinner will face home favorite Tallon Griekspoor in the semifinals. The pair met in the last four last year with Sinner coming through in straights.
On the bottom half of the draw Grigor Dimitrov and Alex de Minaur will square off for a spot in the final.
Sixth-seeded Dimitrov, the ATP’s current win leader in 2024 with 12, topped Alexander Shevchenko, 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4, while Alex de Minaur, the No.5 seed, toppled second-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-3.
De Minaur and Dimitrov have split four previous meetings.