Cincinnati Open final: Jannik Sinner retires with apparent illness in first set vs. Carlos Alcaraz while trailing 5-0
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Cincinnati Open final: Jannik Sinner retires with apparent illness in first set vs. Carlos Alcaraz while trailing 5-0
Jannik Sinner retires in the first set of Monday’s Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner is the defending US Open champion and is in search of his third Grand Slam championship this year after winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open. Monday’s final was the 15th all-time between the two players and the fourth this year in a tournament final. The US Open starts on Sunday and Sinner will hope to recover in time for a potential third Grand slam final of the year against Alacaraz, who has won six of their last seven matches against each other. The French Open final was lauded as one of the best tennis matches of all- time and was won by Sinner in five sets.
Sinner retired with apparent illness in the first set of Monday’s Cincinnati Open final against Alcaraz after digging a 5-0 deficit. Sinner remained on the court for the trophy ceremony and addressed his condition while speaking with the crowd. He didn’t offer specifics, but said that he “didn’t feel great.”
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“I’m super super sorry to disappoint you,” Sinner said. “From yesterday, I didn’t feel great. I thought that I would improve during the night, but it came up worse.
“I tried to come out, tried to make it at least a small match. But I couldn’t handle more.”
Sinner’s retirement arrives days ahead of the start of the US Open. First-round matches are scheduled to start on Sunday.
Sinner is the defending US Open champion and is in search of his third Grand Slam championship this year after winning Wimbledon and the Australian Open. His early retirement on Monday raises obvious concerns about his condition to defend his title in his quest for fifth career Grand Slam title.
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Sinner was off his game from the start
Sinner looked out of sorts from the outset under the mid-afternoon sun during an 88-degree day in Cincinnati. Sinner served first and spotted Alcaraz a 40-0 lead before Alcaraz took a 1-0 lead.
Sinner started his second serve with a double fault en route to another 40-0 deficit before Alacaraz broke him again for a 3-0 lead. Sinner then called for a bag of ice during the break between games. On his third service game, Sinner doubled faulted while trailing 40-30 as Alcaraz secured his third break and a 5-0 lead.
Then, Sinner called for a trainer. Shortly after, the chair umpire announced that Sinner was retiring from the match. Alcaraz then Sinner console his rival a Sinner sat, distraught on the bench. After the match was called, Alacaraz signed the TV camera lens, “Sorry Jannik.”
Will Sinner be ready for US Open?
Monday’s final was highly anticipated in the final of the last warmup tournament before the US Open. The matchup was the 15th all-time between the two players and the fourth this year in a tournament final.
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Alcaraz defeated Sinner in a classic, five-set French Open final that was immediately lauded as one of the best tennis matches of all-time. One month later, Sinner defeated Alcaraz in four sets to secure his first Wimbledon title in the second Grand Slam final of the year featuring the two stars.
But Monday’s rematch didn’t have a chance to live up its billing due to Sinner’s illness. With the win, Alcaraz improves to 9-5 all-time against Sinner and has won six of their last seven matchups.
Attention now turns to the US Open, where Sinner will hope to recover and compete for a potential third Grand Slam final of the year against Alcaraz.