3 october 2024 : Carlos Alcaraz made a stunning comeback after dropping a set to defeat world number one Jannik Sinner in a thrilling contest, claiming his first China Open title on Wednesday.
The four-time Grand Slam champion from Spain triumphed in a gripping final with scores of 6-7 (6/8), 6-4, 7-6 (7/3), marking his fourth ATP title of the year and the 16th of his career.
Alcaraz, who is poised to reclaim the world number two ranking behind Sinner, found himself down 3-0 in the final-set tiebreak but rallied to secure victory after three hours and 21 minutes of play.
This dramatic win ended Sinner’s impressive streak of 14 consecutive victories and saw him lose his title in Beijing after a hard-fought match.
In front of a packed crowd in Beijing, the match started with both players feeling the pressure on their serves. Alcaraz, seeded second, broke Sinner first to take a 3-1 lead, celebrating with a fist pump.
He maintained his momentum, holding serve easily for 4-1, which seemed to rattle Sinner, who admitted to experiencing sleepless nights due to a doping case that resurfaced over the weekend when WADA announced it was appealing the decision to clear him.
Alcaraz served for the first set but Sinner managed to break back at a crucial moment. After saving a set point on his serve, Sinner forced a tiebreak and clinched the set at his first opportunity when Alcaraz hit long, marking the first set the Spaniard had dropped all week.
The second set remained just as competitive, with both players creating opportunities, but it remained on serve until Alcaraz broke for 5-4 and held easily to push the match into a deciding set.
The final set also went to a tiebreak, where Alcaraz finally emerged victorious on his first match point.
Sinner’s performance in Beijing came under scrutiny due to two positive steroid tests from March; however, tennis authorities cleared him of wrongdoing and allowed him to continue competing. In August, the International Tennis Integrity Agency accepted Sinner’s explanation that the substance entered his system unintentionally through a spray used by his physiotherapist to treat a cut. However, WADA announced on Saturday that it had appealed this decision, seeking a ban of up to two years.
