World No.1 Jannik Sinner marches on at US Open despite doping 'nightmare'
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World No.1 Jannik Sinner remains on track to win his second grand slam title after seeing off fifth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-2, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the US Open quarter-finals.
The Italian will now play Jack Draper in the semi-finals after the British hope eliminated Australia's Alex de Minaur in straight sets earlier on Thursday (AEST).
Sinner's path to a title is clear with big guns Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev all out of the race in New York.
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Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts after a point against Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Getty
"He is the best ball striker in the world, the cleanest ball striker. Even better than Alcaraz, I would say," Jelena Dokic said on Nine.
Russian Medvedev struggled with his backhand, repeatedly spraying errors, and at one stage became frustrated with the placement of a bag he felt impeded his shot during a thrilling rally.
Sinner has been allowed to continue competing despite twice testing positive in March for an anabolic steroid.
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The International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted Sinner's explanation that the banned performance enhancer had inadvertently entered his system through a massage from his physiotherapist.
The decision has divided the tennis world and retired legend Roger Federer said it raised important questions during an appearance on America's Today show.
"It's not something we want to see in our sport, these types of news, regardless if he did something or not," Federer said.
"Or any player did. It's just noise that we don't want. I understand the frustration of 'has he been treated the same as others?'
"And I think this is where it comes down to. We all trust pretty much at the end, he didn't do anything.
"But the inconsistency, potentially, that he didn't have to sit out while they were not 100 per cent sure what was going on - I think that's the question here that needs to be answered...
"It's a tricky situation and it's the nightmare of every athlete and team, to have these allegations and these problems. We need to trust the process as well of everyone involved."
It is Sinner's first appearance in the US Open semis while Medvedev won the tournament in 2021.
Sinner is the only man remaining in the field with a grand slam trophy, having won the Australian Open in January by beating Medvedev in the final in five sets after dropping the first two.
Jannik Sinner's coach Darren Cahill. Nine
He is coached by Australian Darren Cahill.
"I think that Darren Cahill has played an enormous role in getting Sinner to world No.1 and winning a grand slam," Dokic said.
"He's done it with so many other players as well. We know that he is one of the best coaches in the world, if not the best coach in the world, I would say. Coming forward and being able to serve and volley is a part of what Darren Cahill does."
Sinner won the point on 28 of his 33 trips to the net, including nine of 11 from 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. We know each other quite well. We knew it was going to be very physical. It was strange the first two sets, because whoever made the first break then started to roll."
