Alcaraz edges Sinner to win Beijing

Carlos Alcaraz
Mal Taam/MALTphoto

They will be happening again, when in Beijing, the No. 1 Jannik Sinner was darn close to win it, but in the third tiebreaker, the Spaniard, Carlos Alcaraz rose up so high. He won it 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3). He was down 0-3, and then he decided to try to put it away, when he had a chance to nail it. He sure did.

“I never lost hope,” said Alcaraz. “Honestly I knew that [when I started it] that every tiebreak Jannik plays is almost to his side. 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 lost it, at least I went for it. So that’s all I thought in that moment.” 

There rivalries is tremendous now, as both of them have won the Grand Slams, and also, in the ATP 1000’s. In 2024, Sinner has won the Australian Open and the US Open, and Alcaraz won Roland Garros and Wimbledon. 

That know each other very well, so on the court, they can go for it, early, or to be patient.  On Wednesday, in the tiebreaker, he pushed himself, and mixed it up, close to the lines. Now it is in the fall, they can play  each other again, but it is hard to know. Or perhaps they can turn it around and show some amazing shots. 

Before that, in the semis this week,  Sinner beat Bu Yunchaokete 6-3 7-6(3), a pretty tough match, but the Italian cracked his forehand and his backhand in the tiebreaker, and he pushed him down. However, Yunchaokete is a coup, beating Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti , and Karen Khachanov, the top 15 players. He is young, and he is also very consistent.

Sinner recently won the 2024 US Open, and he is much more real, set after set. But he still wants to show that he is incredible, with his massive first serve, and his better return. Yet the No. 2 Alcaraz is also playing tremendous, also winning three Grand Slams. He is super smart, in the court. On Tuesday, in the semis, Alcaraz beat the former US Open  Daniil Medvedev 7-5, 6-3 — again. The Russian can play amazing, on the baselines, but he can also back up. Maybe Medvedev is lost, thinking about what he has to do, and recover.

Also in Beijing, there was a lot of the fans who wanted to see with Coco Gauff versus Naomi Osaka. Both of them have some terrific finals, and they can mash the ball, especially with there hard backhand. Yet they split, but then, Gauff won  the second set, 3-6, 6-4. The third set could be wonderful.However,  Osaka retired, as she felt sick. See you later. Ouch, although,  Osaka looked pretty good this week, but she has had a tough year.

 “I wasn’t sure if it was her hip or back, I just knew that towards the end she could barely jump on her serve,” Gauff said, “so I knew that it was something that, in the moment, was probably bad but hopefully it’s something that’s not a long-term thing.”

Gauff needs to win a title during the fall, as she hasn’t won a tournament since January. She really wants, too.

NOTES

That was an odd match, when Paula Badosa beat Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-0. The American must have been out of it…

In Tokyo, the Frenchman Arthur Fils won it all, beating Ugo Humbert in three long sets, and he was so in to it, and soon enough, next year, he will reach into the top 10. He is already No. 21, so he will move up the change…

The No.7 Zheng Qinwen keeps on chucking, still winning a lot. She just beat Amanda Anisimova in three sets, as she can rally for a while, and then when she gets a chance to smash the ball, she will. She will face against Badosa, which should be a few, wild points.