Eighth-seeded Jannik Sinner has reached new heights at Wimbledon, becoming the first Italian to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament by defeating Russian Roman Safiullin 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2. The 21-year-old player maximized his draw in this year's grass-court event and is the first player to reach the semifinals without facing any opponent from the top 50 since Boris Becker and Pete Sampras did so in 1995.
Sinner's victory also makes him the third Italian to reach the Wimbledon semifinals, following Nicola Pietrangeli and Matteo Berrettini, although he had to overcome some fluctuating performance against Safiullin in the middle of the match.
After the match, Sinner expressed how much the victory meant to him, stating, "This win means a lot to me. I have put in a lot of effort and work, also long hours off the court. A lot of sacrifices for this moment. So this win means a lot to me." He described the moment as "fantastic," adding, "I just focus on tennis, and every match has its story; the happiness I feel about reaching the semifinals is immense."
After a strong start from both players in the roofed Court One, Sinner broke his opponent's serve to lead 5-4, using a barrage of powerful groundstrokes, and held his serve in the next game to win the first set. Safiullin, ranked 92nd in the world, did not lose confidence after dropping his serve early in the second set, winning five consecutive games to come back from 1-3 and level the match.
