After the pain of four previous Grand Slam quarter-final defeats, Jannik Sinner made it fifth time lucky on Wimbledon’s No.1 Court as he outplayed Roman Safiullin in four sets to move into the final four at a Slam for the first time.

But for a peculiar period in the second set, when Sinner lost five successive games, the Italian had too much quality for an opponent ranked 84 places below him during a 6-4, 3-6, 6-2, 6-2 victory.

On Friday, the 21-year-old will become only the third Italian man to play a Wimbledon semi-final, after Nicola Pietrangeli reached the same stage in 1960 and Matteo Berrettini was runner-up two years ago. Sinner will go up against Novak Djokovic in three days’ time.

“It means a lot to me,” said Sinner, who lost in last year’s quarter-finals after leading Djokovic by two sets to love. “We’ve put a lot of work in, many, many hours - also off court - a lot of sacrifices for this moment.

 

“I was a break up in the second and I get down, mentally, a little bit and this is a part we are working on a lot. Obviously, I’m very happy with how I reacted in the next couple of sets.”

It was a contest that will be remembered for some truly ferocious ball-striking from both in wind-free conditions under the No.1 Court roof.

By the time the two shook hands, after two hours and 14 minutes, they’d entertained a full house with a combined 63 winners - Sinner shading that battle, too, by 36 to 27.

The youngster from northern Italy took control of the match in the ninth game of the opening set when a combination of depth and power earned him a chance to break. A Safiullin forehand flew long and Sinner promptly served out the set to love.

When Safiullin double faulted to drop serve in the third game of the second set it was starting to feel as if it might be a one-sided quarter-final.

But in the blink of an eye the match changed completely. Sinner’s first serve percentage started to dip and, out of nowhere, the world No.92 broke back for 3-3.

Two games in a row for the underdog quickly became five on the bounce as he took the second set 6-3 to work his way back into the match.

 

With such a significant prize at stake, it felt at this stage as much of a mental test for Sinner as a physical or tactical one.

His coaching team of Simone Vagnozzi and former Aussie pro Darren Cahill will therefore have been delighted with what they witnessed in sets three and four.

The No.8 seed quickly got his mind back on the job, and with more aggression from the back of the court was soon creating further chances to break.

Although Sinner missed one in the second game of the third set, and another two in the fourth game, he didn’t waste any more opportunities when he engineered another in game six.

He took the Safiullin serve again, rattled through a quick service hold and secured another break for good measure to re-establish his one-set advantage.

At the time that third set felt significant, psychologically, and so it proved. Sinner waited patiently for a chance to come along in the fourth and that presented itself with his opponent serving at 2-3.

Safiullin pulled a short forehand wide when he was break point down and Sinner was home and dry.

So next onto Novak after two days’ rest and planning. Sinner says he’s a better player than 12 months ago when his two-set lead against the 23-time Grand Slam champion vanished into thin air.

“For sure physically I have improved. I'm much stronger. I can stay on court for many hours without suffering.

“I think also game-wise or tennis-wise I feel better. If I have to play the slice, I can play now without thinking. Before was always a little bit different. I can go to the net knowing that I have good volleys.

“Last year I played a very good match against him. I have learned about it. Hopefully I can show this also on the court.”

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