By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Wednesday October 2, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz outlasted Jannik Sinner in an intense back-and-forth final in Beijing.
Photo Source: Getty
Tennis is in good hands. And those hands were busy on Wednesday night in Beijing, creating another epic installment of the sports hottest new rivalry.
Carlos Alcaraz continued his 2024 mastery of World No.1 Jannik Sinner, taking out the Italian in a pulsating three hour and 20-minute cliffhanger in the China Open final, 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3).
“He could [have won] in two, I could win in two, he could win in three. It was a really close match,” said Alcaraz on court after claiming his fourth title of 2024. “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. Of shots, physically, mentally, he’s a beast.”
The pair’s tenth career meeting – and second in an ATP final – was a riveting, back-and-forth battle that saw Sinner claim the first set, but not before rallying from a break down and saving a trio of set points.
Alcaraz never hung his head and eventually, after weathering big trouble in a marathon eighth game, struck for a critical break in the ninth game and closed out the middle set, 6-4.
As the deciding set progressed, much to the delight of the packed house in the Chinese capital, the level only seemed to grow higher.
Alcaraz had the early lead at 2-1, but Sinner swiftly struck back after saving two break points in the fifth game to avoid going double break down.
The Italian leveled up at 4-all, but the best was yet to come. Sinner looked to be sauntering to victory in the third-set tiebreak, leading 3-0, but suddenly Alcaraz found his most prodigious tennis.
Seven points – on the trot – later, Alcaraz was celebrating his latest hard-fought victory.
“I never lost hope," said Alcaraz, despite the fact that he was facing a player that had won 18 of his last 19 tiebreaks, including one in the first set.
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"Honestly I knew that [when I started it] that every tie-break Jannik plays is almost to his side. I thought that in the third set, I’m not going to lie, 3-love down, two mini breaks for him. So 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.”
With his win Alcaraz becomes the first player to win ATP 500 titles on all three surfaces, and he improves to 6-4 lifetime against Sinner. The Italian, who was hoping to join Novak Djokovic (four times) as the second player to successfully defend the Beijing title, drops to 9-1 lifetime at the China Open, and 59-6 on the season.
Alcaraz stretches his winning streak to nine and improves to 11-3 vs the Top-10 in 2024. he is 48-9 overall on the season, including wins over Sinner at Indian Wells, Roland-Garros and Beijing.
More to follow…