The highly anticipated final at the Cincinnati Open came to a sad ending on Monday as World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was forced to retire from the match against No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz while trailing 5-0 due to illness. With the result, Alcaraz wins his third Masters 1000 title of the season and his eighth overall in his storied young career.
After the match, Sinner said that he fell ill on Sunday, one day after his semifinal victory over French qualifier Terence Atmane, and that it didn't get better overnight. After 23 uninspired minutes looking like a shell of his usual dominant self, the Italian pulled the plug.
Shortly following the match, Alcaraz posted a nice message for his rival on social media.
“I’m so sorry for Jannik! Nobody likes to win because their opponent retires, especially in a final like this,” Alcaraz wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “Wishing you a speedy recovery! Very happy with my week in Cincinnati and feeling ready for the US Open.”
This is the fourth consecutive tournament that Sinner and Alcaraz have both played in that they have met in the final, matching the record since 2000. They also contested the Rome and Roland Garros finals, won by Alcaraz, before Sinner took the trophy from the Spaniard at Wimbledon.
This is the sixth different Masters 1000 tournament that Alcaraz has won in his career, leaving just three trophies to add to his collection to complete the career set. He will have a chance to get two of them later this fall in Shanghai and Paris but will have to wait until next summer to make another run at the trophy in Montreal.
Both players will now head to the final major of the year at the U.S. Open where Sinner defends his title and his No. 1 ranking, which Alcaraz could take if he is able to lift the trophy. The defending champion will also look to take three of the four majors this season, while Alcaraz tries to even the split at two apiece.
Alcaraz also avenges his loss in the 2023 Cincinnati final, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic in one of the best Masters 1000 finals of all time. While he didn't win this match in the fashion that he would have wanted with Sinner's illness, he will be happy to finally get his hands on this trophy after that loss two years ago.
