Cincinnati, Sinner flies to the final: it will be another challenge with Alcaraz

"Thank you for the birthday greetings", he writes on his little camera after winning the semi-final against Terence Atmane: he received many, Jannik Sinner, for his 24th birthday in Cincinnati and there was no better way to celebrate than with a victory over the revelation of this tournament, the Frenchman who came from the qualifiers and is 136th in the ranking. In the final, Monday at 9pm Italian time, he finds for the fourth time in this 2025 Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Sascha Zverev.

Sinner closed 7-6, 6-2 in less than two hours, without ever conceding a break point and after a first head-to-head set in which Atmane, a left-hander, unleashed those serves and forehands that had ensured his success in the previous rounds (against Cobolli, Fonseca, and two top ten players like Fritz and Rune). The serve, in particular, in addition to being powerful, is executed with a very fast arm movement, which does not allow the player to read the direction: even an ace like Sinner, in the first set, struggled to take the measures. The world number one, however, served just as well and, at 6-all, cornered his opponent. The latter began the tiebreak with a double fault, revealing for the first time in the match a subterranean tension, and then surrendered 7-4. At the beginning of the second set Jannik had a physical drop, held serve in the first, long game with great difficulty - after five unrealised advantages - and the support of the team. Coach Simone Vagnozzi advised him to concentrate his energy in replying in the first two points and to dose it according to the result of those two points, as well as shortening the exchanges. Said and done: 6-2, thanks to the increasingly frequent errors of the opponent who was no longer able to contain Sinner's pressure. It remains for the Frenchman, born in 2002, an unforgettable Masters 1000 that brings him to 69th place in the ranking. For Sinner, who was presented with a Pokémon figurine by Atmane (he has been collecting them for years), the satisfaction of the eighth final of a Thousand won and the excellent dress rehearsal for the Us Open, which starts on 24 August.

But before Flushing Meadows (where Jannik was supposed to play the mixed doubles with Emma Navarro who, however, forfeited: let's see if and with whom he will replace her), there is still a lot of Italy in this Cincinnati epilogue. In addition to Sinner, the defending champion here, Musetti and Sonego also reached the final in the men's doubles, defeating the British Joe Salisbury and Neil Skupski: the last effort is against Ram and Mektic (tonight at midnight Italian time). And today, at 9pm, all eyes on Jasmine Paolini who plays the semi with Veronika Kudermetova.