Sinner Proud to Spearhead Italian Movement After Taking Top Ranking 

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)
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Sinner Proud to Spearhead Italian Movement After Taking Top Ranking 

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)
Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning his Men's Singles quarterfinal match against Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria during the French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 04 June 2024. (EPA)

Jannik Sinner took an unexpected path to the world number one ranking on Tuesday after Novak Djokovic's French Open withdrawal but the youngster said it was the culmination of years of hard work and represented a proud moment for Italy.

Sinner arrived at Roland Garros needing to reach the final to assure himself of the top spot next week but got confirmation when organizers announced that Djokovic had pulled out with a knee injury sustained in his fourth-round win on Monday.

It meant the 22-year-old, who was informed of the news shortly after his 6-2 6-4 7-6(3) quarter-final win over Grigor Dimitrov, becomes the first Italian man to achieve the feat.

"It means a lot to me for sure. It's not the way we all were expecting. He (Djokovic) had two long, tough matches, five sets, so it's tough. The first one he finished really late also," Sinner told reporters.

"It's tough also for the tournament. Novak retiring, it's always tough. Talking about myself, I'm very happy about this achievement. It's a lot of work we put in daily. It's a daily routine. Obviously happy to have this number.

"In two days there's a very important match for me, the semi-finals (against Carlos Alcaraz), so I'm focused about that at the moment. But yes, happy to have this number now."

Sinner, who guided Italy to the Davis Cup title last year, said the country deserved its recent successes.

"It means a lot, but I think it's great for Italy. We're a great country with great coaches and players and we can see this now how this moment is," Sinner said.

"I'm happy to be part of this Italian movement. People, they start to play tennis now more and more, which is great to see. I think that's the most important."

Sinner's game has moved to another level since he started to work with Darren Cahill, who with Simone Vagnozzi helped him win his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open.

"We started to work now nearly two years (ago). It's a huge pleasure for me to have him. I still remember the first week we had in Eastbourne on grass. Immediately I had good feelings with him because he has a lot of experience obviously," Sinner said.

"I know he brought different kind of players to world number one. He had great achievements also with different players. He knows how to adapt to each player and I think this is a quality that's amazing.

"Him and also the combination with Simone is really good. They're two different coaches, but they work together well. They are humble and they respect each other. The combination is very good. I'm lucky to have both of them and the rest of the team."



Zverev Beats Tsitsipas and Joined by Rune, Humbert, Khachanov in Paris Masters Semis

 Germany's Alexander Zverev looks on as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during their men's singles quarterfinal match on day five of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on November 1, 2024. (AFP)
Germany's Alexander Zverev looks on as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during their men's singles quarterfinal match on day five of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on November 1, 2024. (AFP)
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Zverev Beats Tsitsipas and Joined by Rune, Humbert, Khachanov in Paris Masters Semis

 Germany's Alexander Zverev looks on as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during their men's singles quarterfinal match on day five of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on November 1, 2024. (AFP)
Germany's Alexander Zverev looks on as he plays against Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas during their men's singles quarterfinal match on day five of the Paris ATP Masters 1000 tennis tournament at the Accor Arena - Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy - in Paris on November 1, 2024. (AFP)

Alexander Zverev advanced to the semifinals of the Paris Masters by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-4 on Friday and knocking the Greek player out of contention for the ATP Finals.

The third-seeded German saved the only break point he faced.

Zverev, the French Open runner-up, next faces 2022 champion Holger Rune for a shot at the title. He's into his third Paris semifinals in the past four years, though he's never won the hard-court tournament.

The first break point opportunity came in the 11th game as Tsitsipas struggled with his first serve. Zverev got the break for 6-5 on an unforced error.

Tsitsipas then saved two set points but squandered his only break point chance with his 17th unforced error before Zverev closed out the set.

Zverev broke again in the third game of the second set to take full control. He rattled off 12 straight points in his final three service games.

With the victory, Zverev became the first player born in the 1990s to record 100 wins over top-20 players. Daniil Medvedev is on 99.

The 10th-seeded Tsitsipas, who reached the ATP Finals for five consecutive years, had 28 unforced errors to 18 winners.

Rune outlasted Alex de Minaur 6-4, 4-6, 7-5 in a 2 1/2-hour baseline fight. Rune improved to 3-2 against the Australian.

Grigor Dimitrov's hopes of making the ATP Finals were set back after the 2023 finalist was upset by 2018 champion Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-3 for the first time. Khachanov lost their four previous matches.

Dimitrov was 10th in the race to the top-eight ATP Finals in Turin.

Khachanov improved to 12-1 in the last three weeks after winning the Almaty title and reaching the Vienna final.

He'll face in the semifinals local hope Ugo Humbert, who defeated Jordan Thompson of Australia 6-2, 7-6 (4) a day after stunning Carlos Alcaraz.

Humbert has reached his first Masters semifinal, and he's the first Frenchman to go this far in Paris in seven years.