Sinner faces Alcaraz in Cincinnati Open final

(Dan Tri) - Jannik Sinner easily defeated "dark horse" Terence Atmane, while Carlos Alcaraz also had no trouble winning against Alexander Zverev in the Cincinnati Open semi-finals.

Jannik Sinner ended the dream run of world No. 136 Terence Atmane at the Cincinnati Open (USA) on the morning of August 17, but the number one seed also faced a tough challenge in the first set against the left-handed French player.

On his 24th birthday, defending champion Sinner produced an impressive performance to win 7-6(4), 6-2 and advance to his eighth ATP Masters 1000 final. In an 86-minute victory without facing a single break point, the world No. 1 recorded his 200th win on hard courts at tournament level and extended his winning streak on the surface to 26 matches.

Sinner is showing excellent form at the Cincinnati Open (Photo: Getty).

Sinner, who is entering his 28th final at tour level, awaits a formidable opponent, Carlos Alcaraz. The Italian is chasing Alcaraz at No. 1 in the ATP Live Race To Turin, with both players locked in a fierce battle for the ATP No. 1 of the year. Sinner will be aiming to defend his Cincinnati title and close the gap of more than 1,000 points over Alcaraz in the race.

Sinner said after the match: “It was an incredibly difficult challenge. It’s tough when you play a completely new opponent, but it’s even tougher when you play them later in the tournament. The pressure is on, and you know they deserve to be there. Atmane has beaten some incredible opponents throughout his journey in the tournament.

I knew I had to be very careful, my mentality was very good. I felt I handled the situations on the court very well. Atmane served extremely well in the first set. He has great potential, and I think we saw that in the tournament.”

After qualifying and recording back-to-back wins over Top 10 players Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune en route to his first ATP Tour semi-final, Atmane asserted himself with a stellar serving performance from the start, including hitting three consecutive aces against Sinner in the seventh game.

However, the Frenchman spoiled his efforts when he made his first double fault of the match to open the tie-break, making the difference in an otherwise evenly-matched first set.

Despite his admirable serving performance in the opening set, Sinner only lost one of his 21 points after his first serve, but there were worrying signs early in the second set. After a long first game, with four even wins, Sinner quickly put all doubts to rest and began to gain a significant advantage in his opponent's service games to quickly advance to victory.

Carlos Alcaraz booked his place in a seventh consecutive professional final after overcoming Alexander Zverev on the morning of August 17. The victory sets up a final against Jannik Sinner, recreating high-profile clashes at Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon this season.

Alcaraz entered the final for the seventh consecutive time (Photo: Getty).

The semi-final saw a dramatic opening set, with Alcaraz firing at crucial moments to take the lead. However, Zverev began to suffer physical problems in the second set. The German, who had to seek physiotherapy treatment in his quarter-final against Ben Shelton, requested medical advice at 2-1 in the second set and was clearly affected for the remainder of the match.

From the start, Alcaraz focused on attacking Zverev's forehand, repeatedly hitting high, heavy cross-court shots from his forehand to force his opponent into a corner. In contrast, Zverev tried to hit his backhand down the line to avoid Alcaraz's preferred style of play.

After trailing 2-3 in the opening set, Alcaraz found his best form with some inspired play, winning the first set and breaking the first game of the second. Although the Spaniard made three consecutive double faults in the next game, Zverev was unable to capitalize on the opportunity and subsequently fell to defeat.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/sinner-doi-dau-alcaraz-tai-chung-ket-cincinnati-open-20250817074444758.htm