02/10/2024 at 3:27 p.m. by AFP
© afp.com/WANG Zhao
At the end of the suspense, Carlos Alcaraz, world No.3, won on Wednesday in the final of the Beijing tournament ahead of No.1 Jannik Sinner, 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/ 3), new chapter in a budding rivalry which should make the circuit happy.
“He’s incredible, he plays at a very high level, mentally he’s really a beast,” praised Alcaraz about the day’s defeat.
“I am proud of myself, of the way I behaved during this match,” added the man whose victory moved his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero to tears.
It is difficult to know to what extent Sinner will have been disturbed during the tournament by the appeal made public on Saturday by WADA, which calls for one to two years of suspension against him after a double positive test for a steroid last March.
But the clash at the top between the two players who won the four Grand Slam titles this year kept all its promises.
Alcaraz now leads six wins to four in their confrontations.
Sinner, 23, perpetually impassive, tried to wear down his junior by two years throughout the game.
At the end of 3 hours 21 minutes of a bitter fight, however, it was the most enterprising player who triumphed.
The Spaniard got back into the match better with a break at 2-1 in his favor.
Sinner first suffered the more aggressive blows from his younger brother, who also did not hesitate to go to the net.
Alcaraz, varying his effects much more in the exchanges, served for the set at 5-3, but Sinner managed to break the break on his first opportunity.
At 6-5 for Alcaraz, the Italian missed an easy volley then committed two double faults, giving Alcaraz a set point.
– Broken shoe –
This was saved at the net by Sinner who then snatched the tie-break.
The Murcian obtained two new set points, erased with authority by his opponent.
Alcaraz cracked just behind with a forehand that was too long, giving Sinner the opportunity to finish.
The world No.3 surrendered in 1 hour 10 minutes a round that he had generally dominated, particularly in terms of the number of points won.
Last year in Beijing, during their semi-final clash, the Italian won in two sets, the first in a tie-break, before the Spaniard collapsed in the second set.
This time, Alcaraz did not sink but the exceptional ground coverage of the native of Trentino-Alto Adige often led him to avoid the easy way too much.
Alcaraz once again missed two break points at 3-3, like Sinner at 4-3. He made it 4-4 and then signed a shutout to tie the match at one set.
He managed to seize Sinner’s serve at 1-1 in the third set.
Alcaraz missed three double break points at 3-1, which came back to haunt him when his opponent equalized at 4-4, after a rally marked by a ball from Sinner hitting the net.
The N.1 saved another break point at 5-5.
Alcaraz looked desperate when he broke one of his shoes early in the deciding tiebreak and was forced to put on a new pair.
Trailing 3-0, he then scored seven points in a row to deprive Sinner of a new coronation in Beijing, while his eldest remained on 18 decisive games won out of 19.
The two strong men of the circuit will continue their exciting mano a mano in China starting this week with the Masters 1000 in Shanghai.
