The Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz conquered the masters 1,000 of Cincinnati (United States) for the first time in his career for the abandonment of Italian Jannik Sinner, number 1 of the world and defender of the title.
Sinner decided to retire with 23 minutes played and with the 5-0 score against. “Sorry Jannik,” Alcaraz wrote on the television camera once the final is over.
A month ago, Alcaraz and Sinner had faced each other in the Wimbledon final, won by the Italian. In fact, his three previous clashes this 2025 had been in the late: Rome and Roland Garros for Alcaraz and Wimbledon for Sinner.
This time, Sinner began the final granting his white service, an unusual start in him and that seemed to indicate that he had not yet entered the game.
But Alcaraz placed 0-40 again in the next turn of Sinner’s serve and put the 3-0 on the score on his third ‘break’ ball. Sinner seemed totally out of the final and was not seen to interact with his team to find solutions.
With 4-0 and took Sinner, Alcaraz put back with two ‘break’ balls, which he got with a double lack of Italian. Sinner asked for medical attention with 5-0 on the scoreboard and told the doctors that he did not feel control over his body and could not continue.
Alcaraz adds Cincinnati’s title to his showcases, his sixth of the year after conquering Rotterdam, Montecarlo, Rome, Roland Garros, Queen’s.
On his way to the title, Alcaraz defeated the Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, Serbio Hamad Mededovic, Italian Luca Nardi, Russian Andrey Rublev, German Alexander Zverev Ya Sinner.
It was the second time that the Murcian played Cincinnati’s final after having lost the 2023 with Serbian Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz cuts the distance that takes Sinner at the head of the ATP ranking just before the start of the United States Open, which also defends the Italian.
The defeat breaks with a streak of 26 wins in a fast track of Sinner, something that this century Roger Federer, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal had previously achieved.
A desired title
The Spanish Carlos Alcaraz lamented the way he conquered the Cincinnati Open (United States), after the withdrawal of Italian Jannik Sinner, in a tournament he longed to win since he lost the 2023 final against Serbian Novak Djokovic.
“It is not the way I like to win games or lift a trophy, so the first thing is to apologize,” Alcaraz said after receiving the award. The Murcia was proclaimed champion after the abandonment of Sinner, with 5-0 on the scoreboard and just 23 minutes of the game played.
«I know and perfectly understand how you can feel right now, but there is nothing that I can tell you that you don’t know. I have repeated it many times: you are a real champion, ”said Alcaraz, heading to Italian.
«I am convinced that, as you always do, you will return to this even stronger situation. That is what the real champions do, and you are. So I’m sorry, and I wish you to become stronger, ”he added.
Alcaraz, however, admitted that he had the Cincinnati tournament between eyebrow and eyebrow since he fell defeated in the 2023 final at the hands of Djokovic, a chapter that closes with his victory this Monday. «I just wanted to win this tournament. In 2023 I lost the final and from that moment I really wanted to lift this trophy, ”he said.
Cincinnati’s open is the sixth tournament that conquers Alcaraz this 2025 after Rotterdam, Montecarlo, Rome, Roland Garros and Queen’s. That of Rome and Roland Garros, also won to Sinner, with which the Murcia only lost the final in Wimbledon.
Carlos Alcaraz’s next challenge is to face all the US Open 2025 played in Flushing, Queens.
