World number one Jannik Sinner out of Wimbledon after being beaten in five sets by Daniil Medvedev

By Charlie Stong on Centre Court at Wimbledon

Daniil Medvedev (5) bt Jannik Sinner (It, 1) 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3

World number one Jannik Sinner is out of Wimbledon after being beaten by Daniil Medvedev in five dramatic sets lasting exactly four hours on Centre Court this afternoon.

Sinner left the court at one set all and a break down in the third after being checked over by the doctor on court.

He returned and managed to take the match the distance, but Medvedev ultimately ran out the winner 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 2-6, 6-3 – and will now play either Carlos Alcaraz or Tommy Paul in Friday’s semi-final.

The first set was decided by a tie-break after neither player’s serve was breached. Both squandered one chance to win the set in the breaker, first Medvedev hitting long on set point then, when roles were reversed, Sinner slipped at the vital moment.

But the Italian set up his second opportunity thanks to a blistering backhand down the line, Medvedev handing the set over with a double fault.

Medvedev hit back with the first service break of the match in the third game of the second set. The number five seed brought up two break points with a fine forehand down the line, and when Sinner hit a similar shot wide off the next point the break was sealed.

Medvedev was holding relatively comfortably by now, but something was clearly not right with Sinner, whose game seemed to be deserting him all of a sudden.

He managed to hold his serve for the rest of the set – but Medvedev already had the crucial break – and levelled things up with two aces to win the second set 6-4.

And when Sinner was broken again – in the third game of the next set just as he had been in the second  – the trainer was called.

Sinner left Centre Court after the physio had appeared to take his temperature – illness rather than injury apparently the cause of the top seed’s troubles.

When Sinner returned his game plan changed from controlling things from the baseline to trying to finish the points as quickly as he could. But he soon got back into the match and managed to break Medvedev at 5-5.

But the third set tie-break was to go the way of Medvedev, Sinner hitting long off what proved the decisive fifth point of the breaker, and his opponent finishing it off with an ace.

But then this peculiar but breathtaking match swung again, with momentum shifting back to the Italian when he produced a perfect drop shot to break at the start of the fourth set. And when he secured a second break for 4-1 – and then held for 5-1, a final set was almost guaranteed.

Medvedev did manage to regain some composure to hold serve for 2-5 but Sinner made no mistake in serving out for a 6-2 win. Into a decider we went.

Medvedev looked to pounce at 1-0, deuce but Sinner produced a fabulous cross-court passing shot on the run before seeing out the game to level at 1-1.

The pressure appeared to be getting to both players in the next game – Medvedev serving two double faults, Sinner hitting a couple of unforced errors – but it stayed on serve for 2-1 Medvedev.

And it was Medvedev who made the first move in the final set. First he produced a fine forehand passing shot down the line to bring up 0-30, then Sinner double faulted to hand his opponent three break points.

Sinner saved one with an ace – and a second with a fierce drive down the line. But he then hit a double-handed forehand into the net to give Medvedev breathing space at 3-1.

Sinner had chances in the next game, which he took to 15-30 – then to deduce five times, but Medvedev’s powerful serve and accurate ground strokes just about saw him through to 4-1.

The next three games were held relatively comfortably, meaning Medvedev was to serve for a place in the semi-finals at 5-3.

He raced into a 40-0 lead – his powerful groundstrokes forcing errors from the racket of Sinner – then played a beautiful backhand down the line to seal the match.

Pictured top: Action from Sinner v Medvedev (Picture: Charlie Stong)