Jannik Sinner discloses what happened in his warm-up before he dismantled Felix Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati

Jannik Sinner continued his flawless title defence at the Cincinnati Open with a dominant straight-sets win over Felix Auger-Aliassime.

After two failed previous attempts, the Italian finally got a win against the Canadian, beating him 6-0, 6-2 to advance to the semifinals at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Sinner’s winning streak on hard court now extends to 25, and he becomes the fifth male player since 2000 to tally a quarter century of victories on the surface, joining Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray.

It looked easy for the world number one against Auger-Aliassime, who he had put in plenty of preparation for.

Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty Images

Jannik Sinner reveals how he prepared for Felix Auger-Aliassime

Speaking to Tennis Channel after his win, Sinner said: “I am someone who loves challenges. I was looking forward to this match today because I have never won against him.

“The last time we played was a long time ago, so even there you don’t know exactly what to expect, but he is a very, very tough opponent to play against.

“In my mind, I knew that, so I knew already this morning and also in the warm-up I was more focused and everything was slightly better. I was feeling it much better today.

“But you have to believe against every player. Also at the same time I am in the position I am right now but I still have to believe that I can make it.

More Tennis News

“Every match is starting at 0-0, and you never know what is happening. At times, you can start the match not perfectly. Look at me against Diallo, I am a break down in less than five minutes. It’s normal, we are not machines.

“But I take the belief always from practice sessions, how I come to the match, how I am prepared with what I am eating, everything together.

“And obviously, if you feel comfortable off the court with everything, with the people you have around, it makes life easier.”

Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Jannik Sinner’s next opponent at the Cincinnati Open

In the semifinals, Sinner will face Terence Atmane, who has been taking the tennis world by storm at the Cincinnati Open.

Ranked 136th in the world, the qualifier earned big wins over Flavio Cobolli and Joao Fonseca before clinching a huge victory against first seed Taylor Fritz in the fourth round.

Then, in the last eight, Atmane defeated another top ten player in the form of Holger Rune, overcoming the Dane in straight sets to advance.

The Frenchman has never played Sinner, and will look to continue his impressive run in Cincinnati with a win over the four-time major champion.

Click here to read article