Alcaraz Outlasts Sinner To Win Beijing Final
In the latest installment of the next great tennis rivalry, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner squared off in the championship of the China Open on Wednesday.
And once again, it was Alcaraz who came out on top, as the Spaniard came back from a set down to win 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) to win the ATP 500 title in Beijing.
“He could have won in two, I could win in two, he could win in three. It was a really close match,” said Alcaraz. “Jannik, once again, he showed that he’s the best player in the world, at least for me. The level that he’s playing, it’s unbelievable. It’s a really high quality of tennis.”
Alcaraz is now 3-0 this season against the Italian, and leads the overall head-to-head 6-4.
“During the whole week I’ve been playing great tennis,” Alcaraz reflected. “Probably sometimes the luck went to my side a little bit in the matches. But in general I feel great on court, I feel great off the court as well with my team. It’s really important to feel like you are in a good mood all the time off the court, just try to show good tennis and be calm on the court. I couldn’t ask for a better week here in Beijing, and I will try to keep going.”
After the two traded sets, Sinner was the one with the leg up in the deciding tiebreaker as he jumped out to a 3-0 advantage, four points away from the title.
But Alcaraz turned it on from there, rattling off the next seven points to close out the set and claim the championship.
“I never lost hope. Honestly I knew that every tie-break Jannik plays is almost to his side,” Alcaraz explained. “I thought that in the third set, I’m not going to lie, 3-love down, two mini breaks for him. So I didn’t lose hope, but I thought, ‘Okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close.’ I played great points just to make 3-all, and after that I just thought to go for it. If I lose it, at least I went for it. So that’s all I thought in the moment.”
