Red-hot Italian Jannik Sinner will take on American Frances Tiafoe for a spot in the Vienna semifinals on Friday. The winner will go up against either Andrey Rublev or Alexander Zverev in what remains a loaded draw.
Jannik Sinner is closing out the 2023 season in style. The world No. 4 won the title in Beijing a few weeks ago with wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev. And now he has a shot at the business end of Erste Bank Open, but first he will have to get past American Frances Tiafoe.
Tiafoe had a good run at the U.S. Open in September, but it has been nothing but bad news since. Coming into Vienna, Tiafoe had 1 match win (at the Laver Cup) since New York. He was getting trounced in the first round this week by Daniel Evans, but the Brit sustained a tournament-ending injury and he was forced to withdrawal. The American had a legitimate win over the in-form Gael Monfils in the second round.
Sinner and Tiafoe have met three times before with a scant 2-1 edge going to Sinner. Still, it was Tiafoe that won their last encounter–two years ago on these same Vienna courts. Strangely, all three of their matches have come on indoor hard courts.
There can be little doubt that Sinner is in far better form than his 14th-ranked opponent. Sinner played brilliantly in Beijing, and while he lost to Ben Shelton in the round of 16 in Shanghai, he was clearly not fully recovered from his efforts in his title run the week before. Expect Vienna’s second seed to have the answers he needs in this one.
Cheryl pick: Sinner in 2
Ricky pick: Sinner in 2
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