Carlos Alcaraz added another trophy to his growing collection on Sunday, defeating Jannik Sinner in the final of the 2025 Cincinnati Open. The final was not the thrilling battle we expected though, as an exhausted world no 1 struggled from the first point and eventually retired due to illness.
Alcaraz first Cincinnati title
Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first Cincinnati Open crown on Monday, but it wasn’t they way he would have liked it.
Sinner, plagued by an illness that worsened overnight, never found his rhythm. He sat with ice on his head at the first changeover after going a double break down. Shortly after, Alcaraz surged to a 5–0 lead in just 22–23 minutes, at which point the world No. 1 signaled to officials that he couldn’t continue.
Jannik got a hug from Alcaraz before he walked out to the middle of the court, raised his hands in apology to the crowd before returning to his seat with his head in his towel.
“I’m sorry”
Sinner’s condition, symptomatic since Sunday, merely deteriorated by the day of the final. The heat, around 31 °C (87 °F) with high humidity, likely made the situation even harder. Everyone watching could see Sinner looked off from the start: slow movement, uncommon mistakes and checked by medical staff during changeovers.
He apologised to fans after the match:
“I’m super, super sorry to disappoint you… From yesterday I didn’t feel great… It came up worse.”
and continued:
“I tried to come out, to make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more”
US Open ahead
This comes just 6 days before Sinner is starting his title defence at the last Grand Slam of the year. Sinner, Alcaraz and women’s Cincy champion Iga Swiatek are all planning to play in the US Open mixed doubles on Tuesday as well, we now have to wait and see if Sinner will pair up with Katerina Siniakova as planned.
