Fourth
seed Stefanos Tsitsipas got better of 11th seed Jannick Sinner in a
gruelling quarterfinal that the Greek won 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 on a sweltering Wednesday at Melbourne Park to reach the
last four of the Australian Open.

Also Read: Australian Open: Iga Swiatek battles past Kaia Kanepi to reach semifinal

The
23-year-old will next face either Daniil Medvedev, who made his Grand Slam
breakthrough when he won last year’s US Open title, or ninth seed Felix
Auger-Aliassime in the semifinal. Second seed Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime were meeting later
Wednesday in a night match.

Tsitsipas
didn’t face a breakpoint and converted all four he got on Sinner’s serve in the
match that lasted just over two hours, considerably less than his five-set
fourth-round win over Taylor Fritz.

Also Read: Danielle Collins joins fellow American Madison Keys in Australian Open semis

The
only hiccup that he faced was from a weather disruption when a late afternoon
storm hit the Rod Laver Arena. The storm forced the roof over the arena to be
closed when Tsitsipas was already up a set and a break.

“I
knew I was heading toward the right direction,” Tsitsipas said. “The conditions
might have changed a little bit after the roof was closed — slightly faster,
not as bouncy as before. I tried to adapt to the new conditions, and it just
worked.”

Also Read: Watch: Nick Kyrgios accidentally hits young fan, gifts racket to console him

It
was so hot that dozens of ball kids and staff used towels to soak up water on
the court in the 15-minute break. The temperature reached 36 degrees Celsius
(97 degrees Fahrenheit) on Day 10, continuing a week of hot weather.

The
temperature dropped in the afternoon when Iga Swiatek took three hours and a
minute to beat 36-year-old Kaia Kanepi 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3, with the payoff being
a spot in the semifinals against Danielle Collins.

Also Read: Australian Open: Ashleigh Barty cruises to semifinal beating Jessica Pegula

“This
match was crazy,” said Iga Swiatek, 2020 French Open winner, after reaching the semifinal. “First set I
think my mistake was I had so many break points, I felt like I missed my
chances. In the second set … I felt like she’s playing so fast that I can’t be
tight. I had to finish my forehands.”