Sinner retires in Cincinnati, Alcaraz wins. Paolini defeated

The victory Alcaraz would not have wanted, the defeat Sinner would never have imagined: the Cincinnati final, in fact, did not happen, due to the withdrawal of the world number one, down 5-0 to the Spaniard. Cadaverous, almost stationary on the court, one free error after another, Jannik called the physiotherapist: 'I feel too bad,' he said, announcing his abandonment. The state of malaise had gradually become more and more evident, after the shock at the break he suffered at zero already in the first game and even more so at the break in the third game, as Carlos took the lead, quickly. The silent team, no encouragement, was a sign of situational awareness. After 23 minutes of (un)play, the inevitable decision, the embrace between the two, Alcaraz whispering words of encouragement to Sinner slumped in his chair, who said he was only trying for the fans. He also reiterated this in his words during the prize-giving ceremony: 'I usually start by talking about the opponent, but today it is right to start with the public. I'm sorry to have disappointed you but since yesterday I wasn't feeling well, I hoped to improve tonight but I got worse,' he explained, also referring to the scorching temperatures of these days: 'It was one of the hottest tournaments I have ever played. Alcaraz expressed his displeasure saying that "this is not how I wanted to win. I understand how you can feel. I can't say anything you don't know. You are a great champion. You will come back even stronger as you always have, that's how great champions like you do'.

The Spaniard thus brings home a Masters 1000 that had eluded him by a whisker in 2023, when he even had a match point with Djokovic and then lost. Sinner, who was the defending champion here, loses last year's points and the distance to his rival narrows further: 11,480 points against 9,580. What matters most at this point is to understand the recovery time for the upcoming US Open, where the Italian is the title holder. Theoretically, he should be on court tomorrow to play the mixed doubles with Katerina Siniakova, but after the 23 minutes seen on the Cincinnati centre court (where, to be fair, there had already been signs of discomfort with Atmane: at the start of the second set, Jannik was gasping for breath) it is a far-fetched hypothesis. We shall see.

Jasmine Paolini did not make it, as was to be expected, against the steamroller Iga Swiatek. The Pole - who with this success becomes number 2 in the world, ousting Coco Gauff from that position - won in two sets but this time she had to work harder because the Italian struggled, especially in the first set, losing 7-5, 6-4. The Us Open, the last Slam of the year, kicks off on Sunday.