Carlos Alcaraz reveals when he knew something was wrong
The Spaniard won the Cincinnati Open final in just 20 minutes after opponent Jannik Sinner was forced to retire due to illness.
Carlos Alcaraz is the Cincinnati Open champion after rival Jannik Sinner was forced to retire just 20 minutes into the final on Monday.
This latest meeting was the fourth match between Alcaraz and Sinner this year, the first since Sinner secured a resounding victory in the Wimbledon final. However this time around the Italian was seriously unwell and retired after falling to a 5-0 deficit, with nine unforced errors in his play.
“After the third game, I just noticed that he wasn’t feeling good,” Alcaraz said after the match. “I know him. I’ve been battling against him, having great matches, great battles. I noticed he was missing more often. It’s pretty weird from him.”
Alcaraz and Sinner are expected to dominate the men’s game for the next decade and have already racked up an impressive collection of titles. But speaking after the match, Alcaraz’ main thoughts were for Sinner’s well-being.
“Wanted to wish Jannik a speedy recovery and in a few days, hopefully he’s going to be OK,” Alcaraz said. “For myself, I am really, really happy to lift the trophy. I lost the final here in 2023. I wanted really badly this trophy.”
Sinner’s illness left him unable to compete with a player of Alcaraz’s quality and the match was very short-lived. At one point he tried to soothe his head with an ice pack but it proved unsuccessful.
“Didn’t feel great from yesterday,” Sinner explained. “Also during the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give a match. But it was not meant to be for me today.”
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