The Jannik Sinner vs. Carlos Alcaraz rivalry always seems to deliver.
Will the 14th chapter, this one in the final of the Western & Southern Open on Monday afternoon, do the same?
You can only assume it will. Sinner has been the superior player so far in Cincinnati and he won their most recent meeting 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the Wimbledon final. However, Alcaraz leads the head-to-head series 8-5 and has won five of their last six encounters. Even when you want to count out the Spaniard…you can’t. Case in point: he came back from two sets down and from triple-championship point down to stun Sinner in the French Open title match.
There is no doubt, though, that Alcaraz will have to raise his level if he wants to have a chance. The world No. 2 has dropped sets against Damir Dzumhur and Andrey Rublev this fortnight, and he wasn’t overly convincing in the semifinals against Alexander Zverev even though Zverev was struggling to move for the majority of the match.
Sinner, on the other hand, is on an absolute roll. The top-ranked Italian did not lose a single set while disposing of Daniel Elahi Galan, Gabriel Diallo, Adrian Mannarino, Felix Auger-Aliassime, and Terence Atmane. He is on a 12-match winning streak dating back to the start of Wimbledon.
Both current form and the surface–a fast hard court–favor Sinner. Look for the top seed to be too good in the most important moments, but it should be competitive from start to finish.
Pick: Sinner in 2
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.