The ATP No.1 Jannik Sinner lost the 3rd consecutive match against Carlos Alcaraz, in the three direct clashes played so far this season: in Indian Wells, Roland Garros and now Beijing.
ADVERTISEMENT
For a tennis player who is now considered the pinnacle of men's tennis, this is certainly a very negative statistic, also considering that the young Spaniard is ahead 6-4 in head-to-head against the Italian. Jannik has shown that he suffers against his rival physically, technically and mentally.
The young Spaniard has thus become the new champion at the China Open, after an epic final of almost 3 hours and 30 minutes, in which both fought until the last point without ever giving up and holding back. Carlitos has gained some ground in the rankings but is still 4,000 points away from the top.
The streak of consecutive victories opened by Sinner at the ATP Masters 1000 in Cincinnati has thus been interrupted at 15. For the Italian, this is the sixth defeat of the season, three of which against the Spaniard, as mentioned a few lines above.
ADVERTISEMENT
Speaking in the on-court interview, the Italian praised Carlitos and thanked the crowd in Beijing, saying:
"I'm proud of myself of course. First of all I want to congratulate Carlos and his team. You always keep improving. You have a great team and a great family behind you and I wish you only the best. Hopefully we can play more matches like this in the future. It's a pleasure to share the court with you, so thank you so much. I also say thank you to my team, my family and everyone who supports me every day.
It's not always easy. The work never ends and I'm happy to find myself in this position. I would have liked to win today, but it was a real battle and in a few days we will have a new opportunity. I thank all the people who make this tournament special: it's one of the best on Tour. I love playing here, the crowd supports me so much. See you next year."
