Courtesy: Google

Courtesy: Google

Jannik Sinner, the world's No.1 player, is argubly the most unstoppable force on hard courts since Novak Djokovic. On Wednesday, the defending champion advanced to the semi-final of the Australian Open 2025, extending his dream run from last year. Sinner defeated Australia's favourite Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 at the Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday, January 22, in one hour and 48 minutes. This win comes despite his revelation of facing some health issues over the past few days.

The defending champion has had a good run health-wise throughout the competition, but he was uncomfortable a couple of days ago on the court on Monday, January 20th, and had to take a medical time-out in the third set against Holger Rune, while today against Alex de Minaur, he didn't seem completely at ease despite winning easily. Moreover, in his post-match interview two days ago, Sinner stated that his health difficulties began long before he stepped onto the Melbourne Park tennis court. He told reporters that he had instructed his trainers not to warm him up before the match since he was feeling weak, despite his customary warm-up procedure.

Unbearable Melbourne heat for Jannik Sinner

Melbourne's severe heat weather conditions made it even more challenging for players to compete. Jannik Sinner, who had been suffering throughout the competition due to the environmental conditions and weather, was negatively impacted. He also said that the crowd's contribution positively influenced him, especially when he felt like giving up.

Complete domination from Jannik Sinner on Alex de Minaur

On Day 11 of the ongoing hard-court major, Sinner came up big, converting six of his ten break-point opportunities. De Minaur was let down by his 26 unforced errors. De Minaur faced issues with his second serve, winning only 39 percent of the points and making a double fault. Sinner successfully won 81 percent of his second serve points, adding to his 84 percent win rate on first serves.

De Minaur only had one chance to break Sinner, which he failed to convert. Sinner dictated terms to his opponent with 27 victories, 17 more than the Australian. In the upcoming men's semi-final match, Sinner will face Ben Shelton of the United States, who defeated Italy's Lorenzo Sonego in four sets earlier that day on Centre Court.