The Spanish Carlos Alcaraz became champion today at the ATP 500 in Beijing by defeating the Italian Jannik Sinner, who abdicated the throne, although not without a fight.
The number three in the ranking won against the number one in the world with sets of 6-7 (6/8), 6-4 and 7-6 (7/3) after three hours and 21 minutes of play.
“Congratulations to Carlos and his team because they are doing a great job. I wish you the best and I hope we meet again,” highlighted the Italian during the award ceremony.
Alcaraz added his ninth consecutive victory, including those he achieved in the Davis Cup and the Laver Cup, confirming his comeback after his premature elimination in the second round of the US Open, a tournament in which he won the first of his four Grand Slam titles. in 2022.
Fourth crown also for the Spaniard this season that saw him win the Indian Wells Masters 1000, celebrate for the first time at Roland Garros and repeat the title at Wimbledon.
Sinner, who this year won his first two “Majors” at the Australian Open and the US Open, could not celebrate his seventh consecration in the season that also saw him win in Rotterdam, in Halle and in the Masters 1000 in Miami and Cincinnati.
A fruitful year for the Italian, but tinged by his positive test for clostebol in two tests he underwent in March in Indian Wells, despite which he was able to continue playing as he was considered unrelated to accidental contamination.
News that was known before the US Open started, generated some controversy and regained validity on Saturday, when it was announced that the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) will appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) for its acquittal and will request between one and two years of suspension.
“I have nothing to hide and I hope to be able to prove my innocence again after an independent court acquitted me after three hearings,” Sinner said at the time, alluding to the ruling of the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).
Alcaraz himself was surprised by WADA’s decision, stating that “it is not a good sign” and that the issue is not only “delicate for Jannik, but for tennis in general.”
Today, the Spaniard and the Italian, who had argued in relation to the number of matches included in the season calendar (Alcaraz was very critical and the Italian relativized it), met face to face again in a final, the second that they encourage after the one that Sinner had won in Umag in 2022.
It was the third meeting between the two this season and all three were won by Alcaraz, who had also won the semifinals at Indian Wells and in the same instance at Roland Garros.
Beyond this statistic, Alcaraz considered that Sinner “deserves all the success he achieved in an incredible year because he is an incredible person who is doing a great job.”
What both tennis players agreed on was thanking their families and their teams, while Sinner mentioned his personal situation and also thanked the support received.
“Thank you to everyone who supports me daily and understands me, which is sometimes not easy,” explained the Italian, while Alcaraz said he felt “very lucky to be able to travel with part of my family.”
“I also thank my team, who supports me and sometimes tells me things I wouldn’t want to hear, but they work hard with me and helped me regain my joy and motivation when I go out on the field,” he concluded.
The top representatives of the new generation of tennis battled until the last point of a match that began to lean in favor of the Spaniard in the tie-break of the final set, because despite being 0-3 down, they managed to win seven consecutive points to win the triumph.
“The tie-break of the last set was resolved by small details.
I could have gone 4-0 up, but I couldn’t sustain the effectiveness with my serve and that’s why I missed a difficult match. It’s bad to lose like that,” the Italian acknowledged.
First defeat in seven finals played this year for Sinner, who after the setback highlighted: “This type of match can be won by either of us. With Carlos we know each other a lot and we always push each other to the limit.”
“I respect Jannik as a tennis player, but even more as a person and that is why this victory is special for me. When we face each other it is something positive for tennis because we always play very intense matches, with very nice points and exchanges,” he stated. Alcaraz.
“I think that people who are not yet attracted to tennis will probably start watching more matches thanks to these duels or even practicing it,” the new champion concluded.
The Italian and the Spaniard will not take a break because they will cheer on the Shanghai Masters 1000 that has already started and in which they could clash in the semifinals.
Sinner will debut in the second round against the Japanese Taro Daniel, while Alcaraz will do so in the same instance against the local Juncheng Shang, the new champion of the ATP 250 in Chengdu.
The Serbian Novak Djokovic, who currently occupies fourth place in the ranking, will debut against the winner of the duel between the American Alex Michelsen and Yunchaokete Bu, defeated by Sinner in the semifinals of the ATP 500 in Beijing.
“Nole” referred today to WADA’s decision to appeal the Italian’s acquittal and hoped that “the case will be resolved as soon as possible”, pointing out the “inconsistencies of the system” and recognizing that “this situation must be very difficult for Sinner.”
However, the Serbian (four-time champion of the Shanghai Masters 1000) highlighted that “since his case broke out, the level of play he showed is impressive” to get ahead.
The disappointment over Sinner’s defeat had its counterpart in the joy over the consecration of his compatriots Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in the doubles tournament in Beijing.
The “azzurri” duo won 4-6, 6-3 and 10-5 against those made up of the Finnish Harri Heliovaara and the British Henry Patten.
Bolelli and Vavassori added their third title and are practically guaranteed a place in the ATP Finals that will close the season in Turin, a ticket that they could catch early in the Shanghai Masters 1000.
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