Jannik Sinner has advanced to the Italian Open final, but it wasn’t easy. The world No. 1 beat Daniil Medvedev in a match that stretched across two days, winning 6-2, 5-7, 6-4 after rain forced the suspension of play with Sinner leading 4-2 in the third set. What happened between those sets defined the night.

Sinner was cruising through the first set against Medvedev before trouble began to set in the second. He was seen throwing up by the side of the court, leaning on his racquet between points, and grimacing visibly at changeovers. After his serve was broken, he called for a medical timeout, during which a physio worked on both his quadriceps while he sipped pickle juice, a well-known remedy for cramps. The optics were not lost on Medvedev, who questioned chair umpire Aurelie Tourte and suggested Sinner was receiving special treatment.  

Jamie Murray, on commentary for Sky Sports, was blunt about what he was watching. “He is getting treated for cramp essentially, he’s getting his quads massaged. He’s getting his other quad massaged now, so it’s a tough one to explain that you have got two injured quads and it’s not cramp while you’re sipping on your pickle juice. Players exploit that every week, it’s not a unique situation. Medvedev knows what is up.”

Sinner held on to take a 4-2 lead in the third before rain arrived and suspended proceedings. The next day, when he came back to close out the game, 6-4, in the decider, the physical action of the previous evening added a new set of difficulties. 

“During the night, usually I never struggle to sleep. This night was not easy. When you’re in the third set, nearly done, but you still have to show up again, you never know what’s happening. It’s basically a new start of a match. There are nerves again,” Sinner said after the match.

He now faces two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud in the final, a player he acknowledged is in significantly better form than their previous meeting. “I think he’s playing much, much better tennis right now. It’s gonna be very tough,” Sinner said. The prize is more than just this title. The Italian Open is the last of the nine ATP Masters 1000 events that Sinner has yet to win.

Victory on Sunday would make him only the second player in history to complete the Golden Masters, after Novak Djokovic. Sinner has picked up the last five Masters 1000 tournaments and will come into Roland Garros with a great deal of momentum – with Carlos Alcaraz sidelined with an injury, he poses a chance to sweep up the whole clay swing. Whether his body holds up through one more match in Rome is the question that follows everything else.