Alcaraz, 21, kept up his good form against the Italian, winning 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3) to win each of their last three meetings.
The Spaniard has won 16 career titles, including four on the ATP Tour this year. Alcaraz stated, “Jannik once again proved he’s the greatest player in the world; he’s amazing and plays such a high caliber of tennis.” “In the first set, I had opportunities, but I passed them up. I’m happy with my overall handling of the match and everything. “I never give up, even though I know he has impressive stats. I was aware that in order to give myself the best chance, I had to give it my all.” Alcaraz has won nine straight matches since his unexpected second-round exit at the US Open. Last month, he also assisted Team Europe in winning the Laver Cup. When Alcaraz took a 5-2 lead in the first set, it seemed like he was going to have the ideal start. But, Sinner saved two set points to force a tie-break, which he ultimately won. The crucial point in the second occurred in the ninth game when Alcaraz took advantage of his chance to break the tie and force a decider. It was another excellent example of what the future of tennis in Beijing has to offer. With their head-to-head record now 6-4 in Alcaraz’s favor, there hasn’t been much separating the two in their early careers.
Over the course of 2024, Sinner has developed a winning streak in pivotal moments. He has triumphed in six previous finals, including the Australian Open and US Open. In the final set, he found an extra gear to mount another comeback. Sinner, who had fallen behind 4-2 in the third game, rallied to win three straight games and force a tie-break to decide the match. After taking a 3-0 lead, Sinner appeared to be well in control, but Alcaraz was unstoppable. Against the two-time Grand Slam champion, he scored seven straight points to take the lead and win three straight. Alcaraz remarked, “I’ve been playing great tennis the entire week. Some luck went my way, but I also felt great on the court.” Having won on all three surfaces, he becomes the first player to hold an ATP 500 title. The World Anti-Doping Agency (Wada) declared on Saturday that it was appealing the decision to absolve Sinner of any responsibility after he tested positive twice for a prohibited substance in March.
Sinner was competing in Beijing at the time. The 23-year-old tested positive for a metabolite of the steroid clostebol, which is used to increase muscle mass. Wada declared that the independent tribunal’s decision from last month, which concluded that Sinner was not at fault or negligent, was “not correct under the applicable rules.” It claimed that the player ought to be suspended for “between one and two years” in an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas). Sinner’s defense team claimed that his physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi unintentionally exposed him to the prohibited substance, and Sinner expressed surprise at Wada’s decision to file an appeal. During a press conference for the Shanghai Masters, world no. 4 Novak Djokovic demanded that the matter be “resolved as soon as possible” and criticized the “inconsistencies” in the tennis anti-doping system. “I think it’s pretty clear that something is wrong with our system,” Djokovic remarked. “This whole case is not helping our sport at all. There are way too many governing bodies involved, and there are way too many inconsistencies.
“I just want it to be resolved as soon as possible, whatever the outcome may be in the end.”
