French Open 2024: Jannik Sinner beats Grigor Dimitrov to reach semi-final

On a blustery Court Philippe Chatrier, Sinner appeared focused, making just his second quarter-final appearance at the clay-court Grand Slam.

Having secured his first major title in Melbourne earlier this year, Sinner added titles in Rotterdam and Miami, where he beat Dimitrov in the final and reached a career-high world ranking of second.

This was a first quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros for Dimitrov and the 33-year-old, 11 years his opponent’s senior, looked uncomfortable throughout the first set.

He struggled to cope with Sinner’s relentless power, batting the Italian’s forehand away with a weak backhand to concede the first break before saving three break points but relenting on the fourth to go a double break down.

The second set started much the same with Sinner crunching a forehand down the line to steal Dimitrov’s serve in the opening game and that was all he needed to eventually take a two-set lead.

Dimitrov managed to avoid another disastrous start in the third set, fending off break point to hold from deuce.

Words of encouragement continued to shower down from his coaches but Sinner showed why he will soon be the highest-ranked player in the world by capitalising on a poor service game from the Bulgarian at 4-4 to break and have the chance to serve for the match.

Dimitrov picked that moment to switch it on, immediately breaking back and forcing a tie-break, but his late surge was to no avail as Sinner steamed ahead to dominate the tie-break and prevent a fourth set.