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Jannik Sinner defeated Stan Wawrinka in the quarterfinals of the 2023 ABN AMRO Open on Friday, February 17, after which the two gentlemen had a few kind words for each other.
With the help of 11 winners, 12 unforced errors, and five break points, the 21-year-old Italian beat the three-time Grand Slam champion 6-1, 6-3 in one hour and 12 minutes to reach the semifinals in Rotterdam. Wawrinka, on the other hand, managed just six winners, 16 unforced errors, and one break of service.
Sinner won 73% of the points on his first serve and delivered four aces in his fourth tour-level match against the 37-year-old Swiss. Head-to-head between the two players now stands at 2-2. Impressed with Sinner's performance, Wawrinka took to social media to praise him and his coach Darren Cahill of Australia.
"Too good, Jannick Sinner and Darren Cahill," Wawrinka wrote in his Instagram story.
The World No. 14, who also won his last match against Wawrinka in the first round of the 2022 Wimbledon, responded by saying:
"Always a privilege to share the court with you."
This was Sinner's sixth consecutive win on the ATP tour as well. After losing to Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round of the 2023 Australian Open last month, the Italian won the ATP 250 Open Sud de France in Montpellier. In the ongoing ABN AMRO Open, Sinner avenged his loss against Tsitsipas by beating him in straight sets in the second round.
"It’s never easy playing against him" - Jannik Sinner on Stan Wawrinka
Jannik Sinner beat Stan Wawrinka 6-1, 6-3 to reach his first semifinal in Rotterdam. After the match, the youngster expressed his satisfaction with the way he played, also hailing his opponent for his perseverance and tenacity.
“I just try to play every match with a high intensity, try to play my game, try to adapt myself,” Sinner said to the press afterwards. “The first round match here was very important for me, then I try to keep going, to get more rhythm. Today I think it was also a good match. It’s never easy playing against him, so I’m very happy.”
"It was a tough match. We know each other quite well, we practice a lot together. I’m very happy to be in the next round. I tried to push him a lot, he defended very well. Overall, I think it was a good performance today," he added.
Sinner will face Tallon Griekspoor in the semifinals, and the winner will take on either Daniil Medvedev or Grigor Dimitrov in the final on Sunday, February 19.
