Preview: Sinner-Alcaraz Blockbuster

No. 1 vs. No. 2 Dream Final on Tap in Cincy

By Richard Osborn

[1] Jannik Sinner (ITA) vs. [2] Carlos Alcaraz (ESP)
Mon., 3 P.M. | P&G Center Court

The body language can be rigid, the stares icy, in those awkward hallway moments before the players take the court.

That sure wasn’t the case on Saturday at the Cincinnati Open, as surprise semifinalist Terence Atmane broke protocol and turned to present his opponent, the birthday boy Jannik Sinner, with a Pokémon card (it was Pikachu) as a token gift — a competitor whom not 24 hours earlier he had dubbed “the most incredible player that we have pretty much ever seen in our entire lifetime.”

You’ll forgive the Frenchman if there was more than a little fanboy to his gesture. It’s not every day that a player ranked No. 136 gets to face a world No. 1 in a 12,000-seat stadium.

“I mean, it’s his birthday today, so I had to give him something,” said Atmane, who after career-first Top-10 wins over Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune became the first qualifier to reach the final four here in a decade. “I was thinking last night about what I should give him. I was like, ‘Okay, why not give him a Pokémon card?’ It’s just me; I’m a Pokémon card collector. I think this is the perfect gift. If it was my birthday, I’d be so happy if someone gave me a Pokémon card.”

“It was a nice moment to share with him before the match,” said Sinner, on his first day as a 24-year-old. “He’s an incredible player. He showed this, not only today, but throughout the whole tournament. He has huge, huge potential.”

The Italian was venturing into the unknown against Atmane, who as recently as March was at risk of falling outside the Top 200 in the PIF ATP Rankings. The lefthander had held his nerve impressively through five rounds in Cincy, swinging freely and going for his shots. But against Sinner, he found himself outmatched, falling 7-6(4), 6-2, in one hour and 26 minutes.

“The pressure was on me. That’s normal. That’s the position I’m in,” said Sinner. “At the same time, he was ready to fight. Whoever is in the semifinals, they deserve to be there, they deserve to show why they’re there, and that’s exactly what he did today. I feel like his potential is super, super high. We’re going to see a lot from him in the future. That’s what tennis needs: new players, new out-of-nowhere players. It’s good for tennis.”

The defending champion, riding a 12-match winning streak, will no longer be in the unknown when he returns to the Cincinnati final on Monday. He’s quite familiar with his next foe, ‘Sincaraz’ counterpart Carlos Alcaraz. Their flourishing rivalry has emerged in the power vacuum left by the Big Three, of whom only Novak Djokovic remains active. They have faced each other on 13 occasions now, with Alcaraz leading the head-to-head, 8–5. Together they have accounted for eight of the last nine Grand Slam singles titles.

A trend continues: Their last four meetings all came in singles finals, including this year at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. Alcaraz would claim his second straight Coupe des Mousquetaires in Paris when Sinner let three championship points slip away; Sinner rebounded on the quick at the All England Club.

“We’ve played quite a lot now. It’s going to be a very, very difficult match,” said Sinner, who is aiming to become the fifth man to defend the Cincinnati title in the Open Era after Mats Wilander (1983–84), Michael Chang (1993–94), Andre Agassi (1995–96), and Roger Federer (2009–10, 2014–15).

“I’m really looking forward to playing against him once again,” said Alcaraz, who advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 decision over an under-the-weather Alexander Zverev, the third seed. “Thanks to him, I bring my best tennis in the match. I think for the people, too, it’s great watching our matches. As we’ve said many, many times, we raise our level to the top and bring a really beautiful tennis in these matches. I’m ready to take the challenge. I’m ready to see the things that I did wrong in the last match against him, and try to be better on that side on Monday.”

His chief rival Sinner’s greatest quality?

“Not having any weaknesses,” said Alcaraz. “It’s crazy, the way he always plays when he’s at his best. It seems like you have to earn every point, every game. He makes you suffer from the first point of the match until the last ball. The capacity of being there mentally, point after point, not having up and downs in the match makes him really, really special.”

The Spaniard, 22, boasts a tour-best 53 match wins and five titles on the year, and will be contesting his ninth ATP Masters 1000 final.