Tennis, Sinner and the Colombian path towards the quarterfinals and semifinals of the Wimbledon tournament

The highway for Jannik Sinner’s semifinal passes through Colombia, so let’s expect it, some hairpin bends. Some thrills, some overhangs to avoid. The Colombia of Daniel Elhai Galan, 27 years old, number 85 Atp, apparently the intended victim of Jan la Volpe in today’s round of 16, but on the grass, woe to take anything for granted, to feel safe from inconveniences and accidents. «I faced Galan in the Davis Cup, he is an aggressive player, he serves well. Compared to that match, however, it will be another story, because it’s different on grass». Sinner will also have to be different from the one seen against Quentin Halys, especially in the first set. The more you progress on the board, the more tension increases, the more you need to know how to control your nerves, put your thoughts in the fridge.

«They say I’m already in the semifinals? For heaven’s sake – replies the Red Fox – I don’t think about those things. The only thing that matters is training, finding the right rhythm for the match that awaits me. I always play point after point, I never look at the scoreboard».

Galan was born in a place with an ominous name, Bucaramanga, he loves cycling, tennis has always meant clay for him. He played his first matches on grass in 2021, six years after turning pro. To get to Sinner he struggled five sets against Mikael Ymer, the fourth round here at Wimbledon is his best result in a Grand Slam. By beating Sinner he would become the first Colombian ever to reach the quarterfinals of a major. Who passes finds himself the winner between the little-known Safiullin and the unfinished Shapovalov: with all due respect, an opponent that anyone would dream of when there is a Slam semi-final at stake.

So far, the best Sinner has not been seen on the pitch, rather a Sinner in progress. Not yet the one who sent Alcaraz home here last year and frightened Djokovic, a player waiting for a mechanism to click, for a door to open. And that he knows that the important thing on this road is not to skid.