CINCINNATI. A memorable match, lasting over three hours, which will allow him to remain world number 1 for a long time and which makes him the first Italian ever to reach the final in Cincinnati.
Last night, Jannik Sinner produced a true masterpiece by beating Alexander Zverev 7-6(9) 5-7 7-6(4) with very precise tennis as demonstrated by his 36 unforced errors to 49.
He got his first victory on hard courts in six direct encounters and became the second player to reach more than one Masters 1000 final in the season after Andrey Rublev, champion in Madrid and finalist in Montreal. In the final he will face Frances Tiafoe who beat Holger Rune 46 61 76(4).
The Italian is the player with the most titles on the ATP circuit in 2024 (4) and has thus equalled Casper Ruud’s seasonal record for finals (5). In Cincinnati he will play his fifth career Masters 1000 final (2-2 his record so far).
And so Sinner will reach at least 16 weeks as number 1, that is, remaining at the top of the rankings until September 29, until the conclusion of the ATP 500 in Beijing, which he won last year.
The only one who could have mathematically stood between Sinner and this goal was precisely that Alexander Zverev, whom the Italian defeated in the semifinals at the Cincinnati Masters 1000. The South Tyrolean will surpass 13 weeks in total at the top of the ATP ranking, one more than Boris Becker who remained number 1 for 12 weeks in total: from January 28 to February 27 and then from July 8 to September 8, 1991.
“It was a tough match, very emotional – Sinner’s first words after the memorable success over Alexander Zverev in the semifinals in Cincinnati where no Italian before him had ever played for the title – The atmosphere was extraordinary, the conditions changed a lot: we started with the sun, then the rain came and we finished in a session that was basically evening. There was a lot of tension on both sides, I’m happy to be in the final. Today I had some ups and downs which is normal when you play more than three hours. Zverev served very well, I can be proud of myself. Sometimes you have to play a bit instinctively, and I think that was my strength today”. Not even Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic can mathematically overcome Sinner after the US Open.
“This victory – concluded the world no. 1 – means a lot to me at this moment, for what I’ve been through recently. I know I have to improve physically, if I want to win Slams and big tournaments. I tried to stay mentally in the match, I’m very proud of this. We’ll see how the final goes”.
2024-08-19 10:53:29