The Carlos Alcaraz vs. Jannik Sinner rivalry never fails to deliver.
In their 10th encounter and first final above the ATP 250 level, Alcaraz defeated Sinner 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) after three hours and 21 minutes to win the China Open title on Wednesday. The No. 2 seed came back from a set down and from 3-0 down in the third-set tiebreaker to lift the ATP 500 trophy in Beijing.
“He could [have won] in two, I could [have won] in two, he could [have won] in three; it was a really close match,” said Alcaraz. “Jannik, once again he showed that he’s the best player in the world–at least for me. The level that he’s playing, it’s unbelievable. It’s a really high quality of tennis. Physically (and) mentally, he’s a beast.”
This time, however, it was Alcaraz’s physical and mental strength that helped prevail in a contest that more often than not saw him trailing on the scoreboard. In fact, the Spaniard did not have any real lead of note until he broke Sinner for 2-1 in the third set. Sinner, though, eventually broke back for 4-4–after digging out a double-break point hole while serving at 1-3. A 3-0, double-break advantage for Sinner in the ensuing tiebreaker may have seemed like it would be insurmountable, but it wasn’t considering who was on the other side of the net. Alcaraz promptly won seven points in a row to steal the title from his friendly rival.
“I never lost hope,” the 21-year-old explained. “Three-love down, two mini-breaks for him, . I didn’t lose hope…. But I thought, ‘Okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close.’
“I played great points just to make 3-all and after that I just thought to go for it. If I lost it, at least I went for it. So that’s all I thought in that moment.”
Alcaraz is now 3-0 against Sinner in 2024 and 6-4 overall.
Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.