No. 1 Jannik Sinner Beats Daniil Medvedev to Reach US Open Semifinals

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 04: Jannik Sinner of Italy shakes hands with Daniil Medvedev of Russia after winning their Men's Singles Quarterfinal match on Day Ten of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 04, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.   Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 04: Jannik Sinner of Italy shakes hands with Daniil Medvedev of Russia after winning their Men's Singles Quarterfinal match on Day Ten of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 04, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
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No. 1 Jannik Sinner Beats Daniil Medvedev to Reach US Open Semifinals

NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 04: Jannik Sinner of Italy shakes hands with Daniil Medvedev of Russia after winning their Men's Singles Quarterfinal match on Day Ten of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 04, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City.   Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP
NEW YORK - SEPTEMBER 04: Jannik Sinner of Italy shakes hands with Daniil Medvedev of Russia after winning their Men's Singles Quarterfinal match on Day Ten of the 2024 US Open at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 04, 2024 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. Al Bello/Getty Images/AFP

Top-ranked Jannik Sinner used an aggressive, net-rushing style to reach the US Open semifinals for the first time by getting past 2021 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 on Wednesday night.
Sinner — a 23-year-old from Italy who was cleared in a doping case less than a week before the US Open started after testing positive twice for trace amounts of an anabolic steroid in March — will go up against No. 25 Jack Draper of Britain on Friday for a berth in the title match, The Associated Press reported.
After Week 1 exits by Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz, Sinner took over as the title favorite and now is the only man remaining in the field with a Grand Slam trophy. He won his first at the Australian Open in January by beating Medvedev in the final in five sets after dropping the first two.
As reflected by the accurate-as-can-be score, this matchup was unusually topsy-turvy as they took turns dominating a set at a time.
First, it was Sinner who was superior. Then that role was played Medvedev, the runner-up at Flushing Meadows to Djokovic last year and to Rafael Nadal in 2019. Then Sinner regained the upper hand in the third. In the fourth, from 3-all, Sinner surged, saving a pair of break points, then breaking Medvedev to lead 5-3.
“We know each other quite well. ... We knew it was going to be very physical," said Sinner, who lost to Medvedev in five sets at Wimbledon in July. "It was strange the first two sets, because whoever made the first break then started to roll.”
The key: Sinner won the point on 28 of his 33 trips to the net, including 9 of 11 on serve-and-volley approaches.
“We tried to work really hard on this aspect of the game,” Sinner said. “Trying just to mix up the game.”
Medvedev was particularly uneven. He only had one fewer winner than Sinner but finished with 19 more unforced errors.
Friday's other semifinal will be No. 12 Taylor Fritz vs. No. 20 Frances Tiafoe in the first all-American men's matchup at this stage at a major in 19 years.
The women's semifinals Thursday night are Jessica Pegula vs. Karolina Muchova, and Aryna Sabalenka vs. Emma Navarro. Pegula eliminated No. 1 Iga Swiatek 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday.
The 22-year-old Draper reached his first Grand Slam semifinal — and became the first British man to get that far at the US Open since Andy Murray won the 2012 trophy — by overwhelming No. 10 Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-5, 6-2.
Draper has won all 15 sets he's played so far, but things figure to get tougher against Sinner.
“This is not kind of like an overnight thing for me. I’ve believed for a long time that I’ve been putting in the work and doing the right things, and I knew that my time would come,” said Draper, whose upper right leg was taped by a trainer after he felt something at the end of the first set. “I didn’t know when it would be, but hopefully from here, I can do a lot of amazing things. I’m very proud of myself.”



Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta Signs New 3-year Contract to 2027

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
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Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta Signs New 3-year Contract to 2027

Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Arsenal's manager Mikel Arteta celebrates at the end of the English Premier League soccer match between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, England, Sunday, April 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta signed a new contract to 2027 on Thursday.

“I feel very inspired, I feel challenged, I feel supported and I want to do much more than what we’ve already done together,” Arteta said.

The 42-year-old Spanish coach has been at Arsenal since December 2019 and transformed the team into Manchester City's main English Premier League title rival by finishing runner-up in the last two seasons.

His previous deal was expiring at the end of this season and speculation mentioned him as a potential successor to Pep Guardiola at City.

“We are really happy that Mikel has signed a new long-term contract. It’s a very positive and proud moment for everyone at the club," Arsenal sporting director Edu said, The AP reported.

“Mikel has shown his qualities since the very first day he joined us, not only as a football manager, but as a person with wonderful values. We have a strong belief in what we are doing and what we want to achieve together. Mikel’s new contract gives us stability and clear direction as we aim for new heights.”

Arteta was Guardiola's assistant at City before succeeding Unai Emery at Arsenal and going on to win the FA Cup in his first season in charge.

Two seasons ago, Arsenal spent 248 days at the top of the league but was beaten to the title by City. No other team had spent so long in first place without being crowned league champion.

Last season, Arsenal pushed City even closer when taking the title race down to the last day, and eventually finished two points behind Guardiola's team.

“Mikel is a dynamic and passionate manager, who is relentless in the pursuit of excellence,” Arsenal co-chair Josh Kroenke said. “He has a deep understanding of Arsenal’s values, and since joining us as head coach in December 2019, he has taken the team to another level in an Arsenal way.”