Carlos Alcaraz won seven straight points in the decisive tiebreaker to beat top-ranked Jannik Sinner 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3) and win the China Open on Wednesday, extending his recent mastery over one of his biggest rivals.
The third-ranked Alcaraz has won all three meetings with Sinner this year, having also come out on top in semifinals at Indian Wells and the French Open.
Alcaraz ended Sinner’s winning streak at 15 matches and denied the Italian three straight titles after trophies in Cincinnati and at the US Open.
Sinner, who was the defending champion in Beijing, had to refocus after the World Anti-Doping Agency announced Saturday that it was appealing a decision to clear him of wrongdoing following two positive steroid tests.
Alcaraz wasted a 5-2 lead in the first set and let Sinner get back in the third after leading 4-2 before eventually edging out the win after also falling behind 3-0 in the final-set tiebreaker.
“He could have won in two, I could have won in two. It was a really close match,” Alcaraz said. “Jannik once again showed that he’s the best player in the world, with the level that he’s playing. It is unbelievable, it’s a really high quality of tennis, physically, mentally, he’s a beast.”
Alcaraz changed both shoes after falling behind 2-0 in the third-set tiebreaker. He then lost one more point before going on a seven-point run that displayed why he is a threat anywhere on the court. There were inside-out forehand winners — including one on his first match point — a difficult volleyed approach shot and a drop shot.
“I’m not going to lie: 3-0 down, two mini-breaks for him, so I didn’t lose hope, but I thought, ‘OK, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give me the opportunity to be close,'” Alcaraz said. “I played great points just to make the 3-3, and after that, I just think to go for it. If I lose it, at least I went for it.”
Alcaraz produced 55 winners to Sinner’s 30 but also had 52 unforced errors to his opponent’s 31, a sign of their contrasting styles: Alcaraz’s attacking game vs. Sinner’s steady baseline approach.
The match, which was played in cool conditions with the retractable roof open, lasted 3 hours, 21 minutes to make it the longest contest in tournament history (since 2004).
Alcaraz improved to 6-4 in his career against Sinner.
“I respect you a lot as a player but even more as a person,” Alcaraz told Sinner during the trophy ceremony.
Sinner congratulated Alcaraz for an “amazing”…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at www.espn.com – TENNIS…