Carlos Alcaraz Reveals When He Realized That Jannik Sinner Was Going to Retire in the Cincinnati Open Final

Carlos Alcaraz claimed his sixth title of the season at Cincinnati after Jannik Sinner retired due to illness.

Carlos Alcaraz Reveals When He Realized That Jannik Sinner Was Going to Retire in the Cincinnati Open Final

Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image vIa X/Jannik Sinner HQ, Carlos Alcaraz 4K)

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Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first Cincinnati Open title after Jannik Sinner retired from their championship match due to illness. It was the second time that the World No.2 was playing in the final of the ATP Masters event, having lost the first to Novak Djokovic in 2023, and broke down in tears during the trophy presentation.

The next time the Spaniard cried after a loss was at the Paris Olympics final after losing the gold medal to Djokovic. Last year, his attempt to win the Cincinnati Open title came to an end after he lost to Gael Monfils in the second round of the tournament, an uncharacteristic defeat that led him to smash his racket.

But on Monday (August 18), he finally got hold of the Cincinnati crown after Sinner retired just 23 minutes into their final clash. There were expectations of a tough battle between both players, but disappointingly, Sinner wasn’t at his best level as he won just eight points across five games on the court.

In fact, Sinner was 0-5 down when he called the doctor and the physio during a medical timeout in the first set. The Italian star then went to inform Alcaraz that he wasn’t going to continue the match, ending his 26-match unbeaten streak on hard courts and 12-match unbeaten run which began at the Wimbledon Championship.

During Alcaraz’s post-match press conference, he was asked if he noticed anything unusual about Sinner during their match. The 22-year-old revealed that he noticed the World No.1 was missing shots despite trying to be more aggressive on the court:

I think after the third game, I noticed that he wasn’t feeling good at all. I know him. I’ve been battling against him, the last two years, having great matches, great battles. And I know his style. I know his game. After the third game, I noticed that he was more aggressive than he used to be. He was missing more often and [missing] before the third shot. That is pretty weird from him. So I just noticed that his body language wasn’t the best.

The Cincinnati Open was Alcaraz’s first tournament since losing to Sinner at the Wimbledon Championship final. The former World No.1 beat Damir Dzumhur, Hamad Medjedovic, Luca Nardi, and Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals, where he faced World No.3 Alexander Zverev, beating the Paris Masters champion 6-4, 6-3.

Carlos Alcaraz happy to head to the US Open with the Cincinnati Open title

Carlos Alcaraz has now extended his lead over Jannik Sinner in their head-to-head record to 9-5. The duo have faced each other four times this season, all in finals, with Alcaraz winning three and losing just one. Winning the Cincinnati Open made it his sixth title of the season and he’s yet to lose in a Masters 1000 tournament since the Monte Carlo Masters in April.

Carlos Alcaraz Cincinnati Open 2025
Carlos Alcaraz (image via Instagram/Carlos Alcaraz)

During the aforementioned press conference, he revealed that he had been desperately seeking to win the Cincinnati Open since losing it to Novak Djokovic in 2023. The Spaniard added that he’s happy to head to the US Open with the trophy in his hands:

I’m just really, really happy to be able to leave with the trophy. Since I lost that final in 2023, I wanted this trophy really, really badly. I’m just really proud and happy to be able to lift it.

Alcaraz has now won eight ATP Masters 1000 titles in his career, the second most of any active player after Djokovic, who has won 40. He also holds 22 tour-level trophies and will be seeking to add to the US Open to. The 22-year-old will compete in the US Open mixed doubles alongside former singles champion Emma Raducanu.

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