NEW YORK (AP) — Top seed Jannik Sinner reaches the US Open quarterfinals by shaking off a slow start and getting into the tiebreakers that decided the first two sets, before pulling away and edging past No. 14 Tommy Paul 7-6 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-1 on Monday night.

Two weeks away from acquitted in a doping case After two positive tests in March, Sinner entered the fray 2021 Champion Daniil Medvedevthe only winner from the past at Vlissingen Meadows still in the men’s field.

Sinner, a 23-year-old from Italy, won his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, beating Medvedev in five sets in the final after losing the first two. They also met in the quarterfinals of Wimbledon in July, with Medvedev winning that.

“I’ll have to do a lot of running,” Sinner said, “so hopefully I’ll be physically ready.”

Sinner initially did not play at his best against Paul. After 20 minutes in the Arthur Ashe Stadium he was facing a 4-1 deficit.

“That’s where you want to be. … It’s definitely different than any other setting,” Paul said. “It’s electric.”

A noisy crowd supported the American, which came as no surprise to anyone.

As the match progressed, chants of “USA!” or “Let’s go, Tommy! Let’s go!” were common. There were also several moments when spectators clapped after Sinner’s mistakes — considered bad etiquette in tennis, which drew repeated admonitions from the chair umpire, who pleaded for silence between the first and second serves.

Sinner closed the first set with 15 unforced errors on the forehand side alone, but he quickly corrected them and the match ended with just six errors.

“There are of course some ups and downs in best-of-five. That’s normal,” Sinner said. “But finding my rhythm at the end of the game will hopefully help … in the next game.”

Everything depended on the tiebreakers. The first was 3-all before Sinner took the last four points. Paul led 5-4 in the second, but Sinner took the last three points.

That means Sinner has now won 14 of his last 15 tiebreakers, a streak that dates back to a tournament in Halle, Germany, in June. The only exception was one he lost to Medvedev at Wimbledon.

Sinner lost the first set he played at the US Open, but won the next 12 sets.

Paul was attempting to reach his third career quarterfinal, his first at Flushing Meadows. He was also attempting to become the first American to defeat a man ranked No. 1 at the U.S. Open since Andre Agassi knocked out Lleyton Hewitt in 2002.

Instead, Paul lost his majors record 0-6 against top 10 players.

Sinner improved his record to 32-2 with four hardcourt titles in 2024 and has now reached at least the quarterfinals at all four Grand Slams this year.

Earlier on Monday, fifth-seeded Medvedev secured a 6-0, 6-1, 6-3 victory over Nuno Borges that was briefly interrupted early in the third set, when the electronic calling system was disabled due to a fire alarm.

The other quarterfinal in the top half of the men’s pool is No. 10 Alex de Minaur vs. No. 25 Jack Draper. De Minaur defeated Jordan Thompson 6-0, 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 in an all-Australian matchup, while Draper became the first British man in the US Open quarterfinals since Andy Murray in 2016 by beating Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-1, 6-2.

The men’s quarterfinals on Tuesday are No. 4 Alexander Zverev vs. No. 12 Taylor Fritz, and No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov vs. No. 20 Frances Tiafoe.

___

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis