● Winner to face Ruud in Rome final Sunday
Jannik Sinner and Daniil Medvedev were nearing the crescendo of their Internazionali BNL d’Italia semi-final Friday evening when play was suspended due to rain.
Sinner leads Medvedev 6-2, 5-7, 4-2, with the latter serving at Ad/40.
Players departed Campo Centrale at 9:45 p.m. in Rome. At 10:37 p.m., the tournament announced there would be no play before 11 p.m.
There has been plenty of drama in the first two hours and 23 minutes of play.
For much of the second set, Sinner struggled to catch his breath after points, bending over to try to recover several times.
The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings battled from a break down to level the set, before former World No. 1 Medvedev forced a decider.
It looked like Sinner’s chase for his sixth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title was in jeopardy.
Medvedev was in full flow, playing aggressively when possible, defending well from behind the baseline and attacking his opponent’s legs with drop shot after drop shot.
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But Sinner steadied himself by seizing a break for 2-1 in the third set and now stands two games from his second consecutive final at the Foro Italico.
The 24-year-old is two victories from joining Novak Djokovic as the only players to complete the Career Golden Masters, winning all nine ATP Masters 1000 events.
The winner will play Casper Ruud Sunday in the championship match. [atptour.com]
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