Jannik Sinner finishes Daniil Medvedev, wins China Open final

Jannik Sinner didn’t just have to overcome Carlos Alcaraz in route to winning the China Open, but he also had to finally defeat Daniil Medvedev who Sinner had lost to seven straight times before Wednesday. But Sinner’s excellent run in the tournament continued and with a dominant forehand, especially on the last two points of the match, he won the China Open 7-6(2) 7-6 (2). The title is his third of the ATP season.

Jannik Sinner was by far the more aggressive player. He didn’t hold back from cracking his forehand and finished with 18 winners and 15 unforced errors. Meanwhile, Medvedev, hoping that his serve would carry him through, had fewer winners (14) and fewer errors (11). Sinner just seemed to be the more confident player, while Medvedev was shaky at the worst moments.

While Medvedev did have 6 aces to Sinner’s 3, the Russian also had 4 double-faults while the Italian had none. Sinner’s play was just more crisp overall. The match score will say the match was very close, and to some degree it was, but Sinner also felt in control.

Jannik Sinner overcomes Daniil Medvedev to win the China Open

The last two points were stunning with Jannik Sinner booming crosscourt forehands out of the reach of Medvedev. If you didn’t know who was playing, you might think that Sinner had been the player to never lose to the other.

Sinner now has three titles in 2023 after winning the ATP Master 1000 in Canada in August and the Montpellier Open earlier in the year. Sinner also reached the finalist at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami and the Rotterdam Open. Plus, Sinner is the only player on tour who has four wins over Carlos Alcaraz and Sinner leads the head-to-head over the Spaniard 4-3.

At just 22 years old, Jannik Sinner is rounding into the kind of excellent form that could make 2024 special for him. He is certainly a threat to Alcaraz for years to come, and both Alcaraz and tennis need someone to challenge the Spaniard.

In his post-match interview, Sinner told Medvedev, “Thanks for letting me win at least one match” against him. Funny and classy. But one gets the feeling Sinner will be winning a lot more matches in his career.