MASON, OH − The matchup most tennis fans wanted is here.
The Cincinnati Open men’s finals on Monday, Aug. 18 will be between the top 2 players in the world when Jannik Sinner meets Carlos Alcaraz on Center Court of the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
In what has become the rivalry of a new generation of tennis phenoms, Alcaraz and Sinner’s last four meetings were all in a tournament final. Last month, Sinner snapped a five-match losing streak to Alcaraz to become the first-ever Italian to win the Wimbledon men’s singles title.
It will be the fourth meeting this year between the two rivals after Alcaraz triumphed on clay at Roland Garros and Rome.
The last time the ATP No. 1 and No. 2 met in the Cincinnati Open finals, it resulted in the longest (3 hours, 49 minutes) and arguably the best match in tournament history when Novak Djokovic beat Alcaraz in 2023.
Overall, Alcaraz is 8-5 all-time against Sinner, including a 4-2 record on outdoor hard court.
“I’m just really happy to be building such a great rivalry against Jannik (Sinner),” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference. “I think we’ve done great things in tennis in such a short period of time.”
Here’s how the ATP’s top players advanced to the Cincinnati Open finals.
ATP No. 1 Jannik Sinner ends Terence Atmane’s Cinderella run at the Cincinnati Open
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner will get a chance to defend his Rookwood Cup title.
In the Cincinnati Open semifinals Aug. 16, the ATP’s top player defeated World No. 136 Terence Atmane on Center Court, 7-6 (4), 6-2.
On his 24th birthday, Sinner extended his hard-court winning streak to 26 consecutive matches and picked up his 200th tour-level win on the concreate (200-49).
“My mindset today was in a good spot,” Sinner said after having Aug. 15 off. “For my side, I’m very happy to be in a final again.”
Sinner, the reigning Cincinnati Open champion, will attempt to become the first back-to-back men’s singles winner since Roger Federer (2014-2015).
Sinner’s dominance was enough to end the Cincinnati Cinderella run of Atmane, who began the tournament as a qualifier. Atmane won seven matches in a nine-day stretch, including back-to-back upsets of ATP Top 10 seeds in No. 4 Taylor Frtiz and No. 9 Holger Rune.
“He (Atmane) has beaten incredible players throughout his (run) to the semifinals, so I knew I had to be very, very careful,” Sinner said. “He has huge, huge potential and I think we saw that throughout the tournament. I wish him all of the best.”
Atmane arrived in Mason with just five tour-level victories. He’ll leave with 10, has doubled his year-to-date prize money and will crack the ATP Top 100 for the first time in his career.
Atmane was the first qualifier to reach the Cincinnati Open semifinals since 2015.
Atmane didn’t go down without a fight against the World No. 1. The left-handed Frenchman landed 78% of his serves in the first set, notching six aces, to force a tiebreak, where Sinner would ultimately prevail.
Sinner took full advantage of the match with his first break in the fourth game of the second set to take a 3-1 advantage.
ATP No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz knocks out former Cincinnati Open champion Alexander Zverev
ATP No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has a chance at redemption.
Two years ago, Alcaraz was the No. 1 player in the world when he fell to Novak Djokovic in a marathon, three-set thriller on Center Court.
After an upset Round of 32 loss last summer, Alcaraz is back in the Cincinnati Open finals for the second time after knocking out 2021 tournament champ and ATP No. 3 seed Alexander Zverev, 6-4, 6-3.
While Sinner has stayed at the ATP’s summit for 61 weeks, Alcaraz has put together a storybook 2025 campaign with a tour-best 53 wins and five titles. He’s now reached the final in seven consecutive tournaments after a second-round loss in Miami.
Alcaraz, who entered 5-6 all-time against Zverev, got a key break in the first game to take a 4-3 lead, then held serve the rest of the way to win the first set.
Despite Zverev landing 78% of his first serves and Alcaraz playing with more unforced errors (13 to 8), the Spaniard grabbed momentum and didn’t let it go, capturing a tone-setting break to open the second set.
Zverev, who battled illness in a win over Ben Shelton Aug. 15, needed medical attention during the second set after fighting back with a break to take a 2-1 lead.
The two held serve until 3-3, when Alcaraz turned the match with another break at 4-3 and polished off the victory shortly after over Zverev, who struggled mightily to move efficiently after the medical timeout.
“It was difficult. I think we started really well with good rallies and a good level of tennis. Then, all of a sudden, he started to feel bad,” Alcaraz said. “My focus was thinking about how he was feeling. It was a difficult situation for me and I just wish him all the best.”
Alcaraz has now won 16 consecutive matches at ATP Masters 1000 events and is 38-2 overall since the beginning of April.
When he lines up against Sinner Aug. 18, it will be Alcaraz’s 29 tour-level final and ninth at the ATP Masters 1000 level, with his lone loss coming against Djokovic in Cincinnati two years ago.
“I’m really looking forward to playing him (Sinner) once again,” Alcaraz said. “For the people, I think it’s great watching our matches because we raise our level to the top and we bring really beautiful tennis. I’m ready to take the challenge.”
The Enquirer updated this story to include photos, quotes and match coverage of the semifinal match between Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: It will be No. 1 Jannik Sinner vs. No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz in Cincinnati Open men’s final
Reporting by Shelby Dermer, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
