Twentieth tie-break played in 2024 fatal for Jannik Sinner. After three hours and 20 minutes of a splendid battle, Carlos Alcaraz won the ‘China Open’, the ATP 500 tournament (total prize money 3,891,650 dollars) which was played in Beijing thanks to the victory in the tie-break of the third set against ‘sky blue. Sinner loses his second tie-break out of 20 played this year and it is a very painful defeat because it costs him the final of the tournament – the first since the Turin Finals in November 2023 with Djokovic – where he was the defending champion, as well as a bunch of points (170) which does not affect his leadership in the ATP rankings.
The Spaniard, number 3 ATP (after Beijing he becomes number 2) and second seeding favourite, had failed to snatch a tie-break from Sinner despite two set points, but made up for it in the third set after winning 6 -4 the second. The 23-year-old from San Candido sees the first final of 2024 slip away out of seven played, but he consoles himself because he watches everyone from very high up in the standings.
Now, after losing 170 points (last year he gained 500 by winning while in 2024 he takes home 330), he has 11010 ATP points, exactly 4000 more than the second in the rankings, who is now rightly Carlos Alcaraz, the only one to have beaten him three times in Sinner’s golden year as well as having won, like the South Tyrolean, 50% of the 2024 Grand Slam tournaments.
In Beijing, the challenge between the two tennis players destined to retrace the exploits of Federer and Nadal and dominate the world tennis scene in the coming years was renewed. Almost unbeatable players who create sparks when they meet, offering a real spectacle. Now Alcaraz has reached Sinner in number of ATP tournaments won in his career (16) while leading him in head-to-head matches, 6-4 for the Spaniard. It’s impossible to say which of his team is stronger, but in this case the ATP ranking speaks for itself which, as Paolo Bertolucci explained to AGI, “is a real championship in which all the results add up. And Sinner at the moment and ‘more continuous than Alcaraz”. Reading the new ATP ranking which will be made official on Monday, we see that the only change is in second place which the Spaniard snatches from Alexander Zverev (stationary at 6705 points) who was absent in Beijing due to pneumonia. Fourth in the rankings and, as the Serbian himself said, with no more ranking ambitions but only victories in the most important tournaments, Novak Djokovic with 5560 points ahead of Daniil Medvedev (5375) a little frustrated by the duo’s domineering rise Jannik-Carlos.
“Congratulations to Carlos and his team, you are doing a great job. I wish you the best, I hope we can face each other a couple more times,” Sinner said during the awards ceremony of the Beijing tournament won by Alcaraz. “Thanks to those close to me, to my team and my family, to all those who support me every day and understand me, and sometimes it’s not easy. The work never ends. I’m proud to be able to be in this position, in a few days there will be a new opportunity”, he added referring to the Shanghai event.
“He could have won in two sets or three, I could have won in two, it was a really balanced match – replied the Spaniard -. Jannik, once again, however, proved that he is the best player in the world, at least for me. The level he’s playing at is incredible. It’s very high quality tennis. In terms of shots, physically and mentally, he’s a beast.”