Carlos Alcaraz is the new champion of the tennis tournament of the ATP 500 series in Beijing. The second-seeded Spaniard dethroned last year's trophy winner and world number 1 Jannick Sinner after an extremely dramatic and contested final 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3). The match, which became a real classic, ended after nearly three and a half hours, and the two offered tennis of the highest class.
Alcaraz pressed from the start, with Sinner having to save three break points in his debut service game. The reigning Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion was first to break in the fourth game. Alcaraz led 5-2 but broke in the ninth game and his opponent broke back. Sinner saved a set point at 5-6 and the fate of the opening part was decided in a tiebreak. There was no shortage of drama, with Alcaraz pulling ahead 6-4, but Sinner took the next four, and with it the first set.
In the second, both missed two break points in the middle of the set before the No. 2 seed broke in the ninth game. Alcaraz then made no mistake on his own serve to level the sets. In the decisive third, the Spaniard broke first, but the leader in the scheme did not give up and restored parity with a rebreak in the eighth game. Again, a tiebreak was to decide the winner, with Sinner starting very fast and after two mini-breaks he quickly pulled away with 3-0 points. However, that proved to be all from the Italian in this match as Alcaraz played relentless tennis until the end to take seven straight points and the title with it.
The two finished with 6 aces each, and Alcaraz made one break more than his opponent - Sinner saved 12 of the 15 opportunities in front of the opponent, but it was not enough for the final victory. Alcaraz was the more aggressive of the two on the court, recording 55 to 31 winners - unforced errors also outnumbered the Spaniard - 59 to 46. The Spanish talent won 25 of 34 at the net, or 74%.
Alcaraz thus triumphed in match number 10 between the two and now leads 6-4 in the overall balance. The Spaniard is on a streak of three consecutive victories over the world number 1 - Indian Wells, Roland Garros and now in Beijing. The two will now turn their attention to the Shanghai Masters, which has already begun. Sinner will play qualifier Egor Gerasimov or Taro Daniel of Japan in the second round, while Alcaraz starts with a match against Chinese Juncheng Shang. | BGNES
