“Today, it was my day” – superb Sinner powers past Alcaraz into China Open final
Jannik Sinner won against Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (4), 6-1 on Tuesday and will play Russian Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, in the final
© Zuma / Panoramic
Jannik Sinner, the No 6 seed, advanced to the final of the China Open by winning against Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, the top seed, 7-6 (4), 6-1 at the Olympic Green Tennis Center in Beijing on Tuesday afternoon.
It was an imperious performance by the Italian, who was the consistent aggressor across the match. While the opening set was a tight affair, after gaining an early break in the second set then surviving a 12-minute game on his own serve, Sinner raced away with the set 6-1.
“Today, it was my day, but let’s see in the next meeting what’s coming,” said Sinner after his victory, which moves the world No 7 to 4-3 in the pair’s head-to-head.
Sinner cracks top five, closes in on Turin
The win sees Sinner edge closer to qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin next month, with the Italian currently sitting fourth in the race.
Significantly, by reaching the final of the China Open, Sinner ensures that he will rise to No 4 in the world when the new rankings are released on Monday – a career-high for him, and the first time an Italian man has been inside the top five in the Open Era.
Speaking after the match, Sinner had this to say of his win over Alcaraz:
“Very tough. I would say every match against him is very tough. We always show great respect, always play very great, try to stay on our limits. I played better in the big moments, just try to stay focused. Very happy about the performance.
The execution went really, really well. Most trying to stay aggressive, when he has a lot of time he plays really good. I was quite prepared. Next time when we play, we will both change a bit. We both get to know each other a little bit better. It makes for him and for me easier, but also more difficult.”
Sinner, ranked No 7, will play Russian Daniil Medvedev, the second seed, next.
The 22-year-old Italian defeated Daniel Evans (6-4, 6-7 (2), 6-3), Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka (6-2, 6-0) and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov (6-4, 3-6, 6-2) in the previous rounds of the Beijing tournament. Earlier in the tournament, Alcaraz, ranked No 2, won against German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann (6-4, 6-3), Italian Lorenzo Musetti (6-2, 6-2) and Norwegian Casper Ruud, the No 7 seed (6-4, 6-2).
Beijing ATP500, other semi-final result (Olympic Green Tennis Center, hard, USD 3.633.875):
- Daniil Medvedev beat Alexander Zverev (8): 6-4, 6-3
