Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz turn in instant classic in China Open final
By Lee Vowell
Get used to this, tennis fans. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are going to be playing a lot of finals over the next decade. Whoever wins the rivalry will also likely be the long-term king of tennis. The two young players are quite a bit ahead of the rest of the players of their age.
In the China Open final, the Italian jumped out to a lead by taking the first set tie-break. The match was played at an unbelievably high level, with each player getting to balls most human beings cannot and then returning those shots to impossibly difficult spots. There was hardly any room for error as the other player would have pounced and taken full control.
In the second set, Alcaraz got the only break needed to force a third set. The Spaniard, as he did throughout the match, was just a tick better than the Italian in terms of efficiency. Alcaraz had a more consistent first serve, landed his second serve better, and was the better player in the bigger moments.
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Jannik Sinner in China Open final thriller
This was never more true than in the third set tie-break when Sinner won the first three points and appeared on the cusp of once again dominating a tie-break. He had won 19 of his last 21. Instead, Alcaraz roared back to win the next seven points to take the set and match.
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With the victory, Alcaraz gains a little ground on Sinner in the ATP rankings, but he is still 4,000 points short of No. 1 at this point. The Spaniard is a solid No. 2, and Sinner and Alcaraz will probably battle for the top spot on the tour for the next decade. At their best, which is what tennis fans saw in the final, Alcaraz appears to be the slightly better player.
Still, no matter who one might have been rooting for, the magic of the shot-making was brilliant from both players. Tennis is clearly in good hands, and the transition from the Big 3 to the new Big 2 is complete, especially as Alcaraz and Sinner combined to win all of the Grand Slam titles in 2024.
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