The defending champion maintained his ruthless form by dispatching fellow Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, securing his fifth consecutive Grand Slam semi-final appearance.
The top seed has now extended his hardcourt winning streak to 26 matches, and a victory over Auger-Aliassime on Friday would see him reach his fourth major final of the year.
“We know each other very well,” Sinner said of Musetti ahead of the semi-final clash. “We are from the same country. We have so many Italian players every time in the draw. I know here, there are many Italians, so it’s nice to play here. Obviously playing Davis Cup together and stuff like this, we have to take the friendship away for the match and then obviously when we shake hands, everything is fine.
“From my point of view, it was a great performance, very solid. Especially starting very, very well in the match.”
Sinner’s thunderous hitting set the tone from the outset, racing to a 5-0 lead. The loudest cheers of the opening set came only when Musetti finally got on the board, but that proved to be his sole moment of joy in a 27-minute opener.
The 23-year-old Musetti showed brief resistance early in the second set, threatening to break, but Sinner held firm to extend his advantage and then cruised through the final set to secure his place in the semi-finals.
Auger-Aliassime, meanwhile, is set to return to the top 15 of the ATP Rankings after a gritty four-set victory over Alex de Minaur in the last eight of the US Open.
World No 27 and 25th seed Auger-Aliassime fought past eighth seed de Minaur 4-6, 7-6(7), 7-5, 7-6(4) in four hours and 10 minutes inside the Arthur Ashe Stadium, returning to the semi-finals in New York for the first time since 2021.
It was the 25-year-old’s first Grand Slam quarter-final since the 2022 Australian Open, and he is now back into the last four of a major for the first time since his run in New York four years ago.
“It feels amazing – honestly, four years ago, it feels like more,” said the Canadian.
“It was a tough couple of years, but it feels even better now to be back in the semi-finals. It’s been an amazing tournament so far.
“It’s not over, there’s still some tennis to play, and the biggest challenges are yet to come, but that’s what I live for, that’s what I train for — so I’m going to show up and be ready for my [semi-final] match on Friday.”
