Both Jannik Sinner and Frances Tiafoe were seemingly down and out in the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open on Sunday night.

Instead, both players survived in third-set tiebreakers and will face each other for the title of this Masters 1000 event on Monday evening.

On paper, of course, Tiafoe is a massive underdog. However, the playing field could be leveled by the fact that Sinner is a considerable question mark heading into the final because of his lingering hip injury. The world No. 1 has not been 100 percent since the French Open (he also missed the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis) and he was struggling physically against Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s first semifinal but managed to prevail 7-6(9), 5-7, 7-6(4). Sinner preceded that result with victories over Alex Michelsen and Andrey Rublev in addition to a walkover from Jordan Thompson.

In the second semi, Tiafoe trailed Holger Rune 5-2 in the third set before storming back to triumph 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4). The 27th-ranked American saved double-match point while serving at 4-5 in the decider, including the first one with a winner off the net cord. Tiafoe’s trip to the final also included defeats of Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Lorenzo Musetti, Jiri Lehecka, and Hubert Hurkacz–the latter via retirement.

Needless to say, this is a massive result for Tiafoe regardless of what transpires on Monday. The 26-year-old had been a disappointing 19-18 for the season prior to this week, and his ranking is 17 spots off his career high. Even if Tiafoe loses to Sinner he will climb back up to 20th.

This marks the fifth meeting between Sinner and Tiafoe, with the Italian leading the head-to-head series 3-1. They have squared off only once since the end of 2021, as Sinner most recently got the job done 6-3, 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Vienna during his red-hot stretch last fall.

The top seed really hasn’t cooled off since, only slowed down at times by his injury issues. That is likely the only thing that can stop him on Monday against an opponent who is playing in a Masters 1000 final for the first time. Sinner should take care of business if he is anywhere close to 100 percent, but he better finish the job in straight sets because Tiafoe would have the physical edge in a long match.

Pick: Sinner in 2