Carlos Alcaraz Triumphs Over Jannik Sinner in China Open Final

In a much-anticipated showdown, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) to claim the China Open title in Beijing, marking his fourth title of the season. The gripping contest lasted a marathon 3 hours and 20 minutes, showcasing the budding rivalry between these two young tennis luminaries. Alcaraz, ranked world No. 3, improved his head-to-head record against world No. 1 Sinner to 6-4.

Following the match, Alcaraz spoke highly of his opponent on Tennis Channel, stating, “Jannik showed once again that he’s the best player in the world, at least for me, with the level that he’s playing. It is unbelievable, it is a really high quality of tennis, physically, mentally. He’s a beast.” The Spaniard expressed pride in his own performance, adding, “I had my chances in the first set, three set points, and didn’t make it. But in general, I’m proud about myself with the way that I dealt [with] the match.”

The final was Sinner’s first loss in a final this year after six consecutive victories. This defeat also prevented Sinner from becoming the first man since Novak Djokovic to retain the China Open crown, a feat dating back to Djokovic’s four consecutive titles from 2012 to 2015.

Despite a strong start, Alcaraz missed key opportunities in the first set, allowing Sinner to clinch the tiebreak. However, Alcaraz regrouped, taking the second set and despite a dip in concentration that allowed Sinner to level at 4-4 in the third, Alcaraz prevailed in a decisive final-set tiebreak.

Sinner entered the match with a formidable record, having won 18 of his last 19 tiebreaks. However, Alcaraz was resolute, erasing an early 3-0 deficit in the tiebreak to secure victory with a powerful cross-court forehand.

The match statistics reflect the intensity, with Alcaraz hitting 55 winners against 52 unforced errors, while Sinner managed 30 winners to 31 unforced errors. Alcaraz seized 3 of 15 break opportunities, compared to Sinner’s 2 of 6.

On court, Sinner praised his opponent, saying, “You’re doing an amazing job. You have a great team and family behind you. Hopefully, we can still play a couple more times in the future, which I’m quite sure. It’s always a big pleasure to share the court with you.”