Sinner retires on 1-4, Cerundolo in the semifinals in Miami

The quarter-final in the Masters 1000 in Miami between Jannik Sinner and Francisco Cerundolo ends after just 22 minutes: the blue retired 4-1 in the first set and left the field limping slightly but without saying anything to his opponent. nor to the referee. According to the first rumors, blisters on his feet were the cause of Jannik’s withdrawal.

After having canceled 3 match points in Ruusuvuori in the first round, 5 match points in Pablo Carreno Busta in the second and beat Australian Nick Kyrgios in two sets, Sinner seemed clearly the favorite to reach a place for the semifinals. The actual match lasted a few minutes. The weapons available to Sinner are much more powerful and precise than those of Cerundolo, but the Argentine does not let himself be intimidated, flaunting a tennis capable of responding blow for blow to the blows of the blue. Cerundolo cancels a break point already in the opening game, Sinner needs three smashes to close his first serve at 15 and then the Argentine clings to the serve to go up 2-1. The South Tyrolean flies 40-0 to reach his rival on 2 equal, but suffers an empty pass, commits the first free players and then unexpectedly grants the opponent the break. Cerundolo is master of the field, he always forces as soon as he can, finds very deep diagonals and often takes Sinner off guard who sinks under 4-1 undergoing 9 points in a row. At the change of field Sinner goes to shake hands with the referee and his opponent and retires. “I only saw – Cerundolo said at the end of the match – that Sinner folded at 2-1 30-0. It was unlikely that he was tired, but he will have suffered an injury”.

ALWAYS 10

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There remain 10 Italian semifinals in a Masters 1000. The first was Andrea Gaudenzi in Monte Carlo 1995 (beaten 6-3 7-6 by Thomas Muster), the second Andreas Seppi in Hamburg 2005 (beaten 6-1 7-5 by Jurgen) Melzer) and the third Filippo Volandri in Rome 2007 (eliminated by Fernando Gonzalez 6-1 6-2). Then there were 3 consecutive appearances by Fabio Fognini: semifinalist in Monte Carlo 2013 (overtaken by Novak Djokovic 6-2 6-1), semifinalist in Miami 2017 (eliminated by Rafael Nadal pr 6-1 7-5) and finally winner in Monte Carlo 2019 (in the final against Dusan Lajovic for 6-3 6-4). The seventh presence in the semifinals again in 2019 thanks to Matteo Berrettini in Shanghai (overtaken by Zverev for 6-3 6-4), then three in 2021: Sinner’s final in Miami lost to Hurkacz for 7-6 6-4, that by Matteo Berrettini in Madrid lost to Zverev 6-7 6-4 6-3 and finally the semifinal by Lorenzo Sonego in Rome lost to Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-7 6-2.