Sinner beats Tiafoe 7-6, 6-2 and wins in Cincinnati

Jannik Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe in two sets in the final of the Cincinnati tournament. The Italian tennis player, world number one, claimed his fifth win of the season by beating the American 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in 1 hour and 36 minutes.

With his victory in Cincinnati, Sinner lifts his third ATP Masters trophy. The Italian faced a complex first set, which he won in the tie-break. At that point, Tiafoe's game faded and the South Tyrolean champion quickly closed out the second set. The American, who still enters the top-20 ranking, saved three match points before Sinner won his 15th career title. Cincinnati is the fifth trophy in 2024 for Sinner. "I am happy, it was a very difficult week," said the Italian tennis player. "It was tough mentally, but I tried to do my best. Frances and I were both tired from the semi-finals (played yesterday) and there was a lot of tension. I'm just happy that I maintained my level in the important moments. I handled the situations on the court well. There were a lot of ups and downs,' concluded the South Tyrolean, 'but that's normal. In the important moments of each match I played well.

With this victory, Sinner enters the US Open, which starts on 26 August, as the big favourite, and more than 2,000 points ahead of world number two Novak Djokovic. Against Tiafoe, Sinner hit 29 service winners, including 13 aces, and broke the American twice on eight attempts. The two duelled for almost an hour in the opening set, with the Italian hitting 10 aces before reaching the tie-break. A crack in Tiafoe's defence was enough to give Sinner two set point chances. In the second set, with a 4-1 lead, the Italian still had to battle with the American, who saved three match points to go up 5-2 before Sinner managed to take the set and the win.