Jannik Sinner was proud of overcoming a "difficult moment" to reach the Cincinnati Open final after dramatically outlasting Alexander Zverev in a third set tie-break. 

Sinner, who was seen visibly struggling with a hip injury for parts of the contest, eventually emerged a 7-6 (11-9) 5-7 7-6 (7-4) victor in over three hours in Ohio. 

The world number one picked up the injury in Madrid back in May, further aggravating it in his shock quarter-final defeat by Andrey Rublev at the Canadian Open. 

"It means a lot to me. It's a very different moment, what I'm going through, so I'm very happy about this result," Sinner said in an on-court interview.

"The physical aspect, of course, I have to improve, because if I want to win grand slams or a bigger title, I have to be, for sure, more in shape.

"But I just tried to stay there mentally, which I'm very proud (of), and let's see what's coming tomorrow."

Zverev started brightly and was three points away from serving out the opening set until the Italian levelled at 5-5, only for rain to interrupt play. 

Sinner returned to claim the early advantage, only for Zverev, who had won all four of their previous encounters, to respond in the second to take the game the distance.

Neither player faced a break point in the decider, but it was Sinner who took control of the tie-break, dropping just one point on serve as the triumph was sealed when Zverev sent a backhand long. 

The world number one will face Frances Tiafoe, who reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 final after defeating 15th seed Holger Rune in three sets. 

Data Debrief: Sinner continues hard court dominance

Sinner's triumph saw him become the first Italian in the Open Era to reach the men's singles final at the Cincinnati Open, and the first since 1973 to claim 5+ ATP top five wins in consecutive seasons.

Since the start of the 2023 season, Sinner has won 15 of his 20 matches on hard court against opponents ranked in the ATP’s top five.

World number two, Novak Djokovic (six), has the next-most over that span on the surface.