Alcaraz takes first Cincinnati title after Sinner retires

Cincinnati, Aug 19 (IANS) Carlos Alcaraz won his sixth title of the season at the Cincinnati Open on Monday after fierce rival Jannik Sinner was forced to retire early in the first set into their championship-match clash.

The final would last just 23 minutes as the top-ranked and top-seeded Sinner unable to play on due to illness. Only five games into the match, the Italian informed chair umpire Mohamed Lahyani that he could not continue. The finally tally, 5-0, ret., gives Alcaraz the eighth ATP Masters 1000 title of his career.

As the defending champion, Sinner was bidding to become the first player to go back-to-back here since Roger Federer in 2014-15. It marks only the second time in the Open Era that a player has retired in the Cincinnati men’s final. Novak Djokovic was forced to retire in 2013 due to a shoulder injury trailing, 6-4, 3-0.

The title is Alcaraz’s first in Cincinnati. In 2023, he squandered a championship point against Djokovic, dropping a three-hour, 49-minute, 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) epic that still stands as the longest best-of-three-sets final in ATP Tour history. He is the third Spaniard to claim the men’s title after Carlos Moya (2002) and Rafael Nadal (2013).

“After the third game, I just noticed that he wasn’t feeling good at all,” said Alcaraz. “I know him. I’ve been battling against him for two years, having great matches, great battles. I know his style, his game. I noticed that he was being more aggressive than he used to be. He was missing more often. I thought that it was pretty weird from him. I noticed that the body language wasn’t the best for him.”

"It’s not the way that I want to win matches, win trophies. I can’t say anything you don’t know already, but as I’ve said many, many times, you are truly a champion. I’m pretty sure from this situation that you are going to come back better, even stronger. You always do. That’s what true champions do," The Spaniard added.

By winning his third ATP Masters 1000 title of the season, following triumphs in Monte-Carlo and Rome, Alcaraz extended his winning streak at that level to 17 matches. With his 22nd tour-level trophy, Alcaraz also strengthened his push for Year-End No. 1 he last held in 2022. He leads Sinner by 1,890 points in the ATP Live Race To Turin, according to ATP stats.

With defeat, Sinner's 26-match winning streak on hard courts comes to an end, and he now faces a quick recovery ahead of his US Open title defence. The World No. 1's participation in the mixed doubles event, in which he is set to compete with Katerina Siniakova on Tuesday, may now be in question.

With a Tour-leading 54 wins and six titles in 2025, Alcaraz will head to the US Open, which could have huge ramifications in his battle with Sinner for the World No. 1 spot.

Alcaraz now owns 13 Big Titles — a combination of Grand Slam championships, trophies at the Nitto ATP Finals and ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, and Olympic singles gold medals — and has claimed eight ATP Masters 1000 trophies, more than any active player besides Novak Djokovic (40).

Interestingly, in the last two years, the Cincinnati champion has gone on to win the US Open.

--IANS

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