Sam Bunce
The longest match in the history of the men’s singles at the China Open was played on Wednesday between the first and second seed.
Alcaraz vs Sinner has finally given fans the best insight into what is to come in men’s tennis.
A new dawn of tennis and into a potential period of dominance from two youthful powerhouses, lighting up tennis courts around the world.
The backdrop to the match
Carlos Alcaraz was looking for a chance at redemption in Beijing after losing in the semi-final to Sinner in this competition last year.
He cruised to this final after defeating Daniil Medvedev, but the last few months, following the spectacles he produced in his French Open and Wimbledon victories earlier in the year, have been underwhelming in satisfying the Spaniard’s high standards.
An Olympic final loss to veteran Novak Djokovic in a compelling contest in Paris, as well as a shocking straight sets defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open, had left Alcaraz hungry to seize the opportunities like this China Open to try to ascend back to the throne of tennis.
His opponent was the Australian Open and, more recently, US Open champion Jannik Sinner, who had cemented himself as number one seed.
Yet, he has been the subject of a doping scandal following two failed drug tests in March and now teetering on the edge of suspension from competing in the sport altogether.
Nevertheless, in New York in September, Sinner executed a composed, collected and skilful win in the final of the grand slam against Taylor Fritz, with a gruelling triumph in the semi-final against Jack Draper two days prior.
Carlos Alcaraz views him as “the best player in the world”
Carlos Alcaraz views him as ‘the best player in the world’ at the moment, which he said after their contest at the China Open.
Humble, yes, but fierce rivals also, and now when these two meet the expectation is always high.
Beijing’s entrancing final
We expected it to be an arduous match for both players, but this is something they ultimately embrace.
We expected it to be separated by fine margins and played at an energetically quick pace and boy did we get that, and much, much more.
The Spaniard combined finesse, shot selection and urgency into his opening games as he led 3-1.
Sinner, showing why he is the world number one, eventually levelled this opening set at 6-6 after surviving a set point, which forced a favourable tie break for the Italian, who had staggeringly won 18 of his last 19 tie breaks.
A dominant early display from Alcaraz became insignificant as his errors were capitalised by Sinner, who managed to clinch the set.
The second set, centre stage in the Chinese capital, had lengthier rallies which began to become more frequent in this match.
On both sides of the net, desperate defence was utilised and converted into incredible offensive plays.
A shot that is impossible to get to, surely a shot they can’t return, but yes, every time these players seem to relentlessly chase it down.
With a break and hold of serve at the end of the set, Alcaraz managed to level the match, and he cupped his ear, gesturing to the crowd, which is something we so often see from him after winning big points.
The third and final set
It all, then, came down to the final set as Jannik Sinner used the drop shot from his varied arsenal really well, similarly to Alcaraz who uses this shot extensively to win points and or to draw his opponents to the net.
Sinner broke the Wimbledon champion back in the eighth game
Sinner broke the Wimbledon champion back in the eighth game, and nearing the three-hour mark to this ‘best of three’ sets match, a second tie break would be the way to decide who would take away the trophy, and significantly the bragging rights and reputation of winning this particular head-to-head.
The Italian led 3-0 in the race to the seven points required to win this final. With his record in these pressuring situations this year, the odds were stacked against the man on the other side of the net.
Seven straight points against this opponent, in this form, was an unconquerable task
Seven straight points against this opponent, in this form, was an unconquerable task, but as Sinner commented after the match regarding these tie breaks, ‘the small margins seem very big.’ And that’s certainly what it was.
Some expertly played points by Carlos Alcaraz, another ear cupping gesture to the crowd, and it was a passionate, ripping, cross-court forehand that sealed a dramatic win.
After the match, he said how he was ‘really happy with the way he managed that moment.’
He also recognised the significance of this victory for him and his team as ‘a really special win for me’ given what ‘we went through in the last month and last two months.’
There is always an opportunity for more or to bounce back in tennis when you are at the top, despite the arguably excessive demands in the schedule, and Alcaraz always seems to be there to grasp them.
What lies ahead
In a recent interview, Sinner said that, ‘it’s nice that we are rivals on the court and then friends off the court.’
Yet contrastingly, Alcaraz has highlighted that there very much is a shared feeling of respect, but that Jannik Sinner and himself are ‘not close friends.’
Tennis great Novak Djokovic, in regards to his rivalries with Nadal and Federer said ‘we are not friends because, you know, we’re rivals and it’s difficult as competitors to be very close and kind of share and give insights to your life or to how you feel because it could be used against you.’
A rivalry for the ages is developing into an exciting prospect here
A rivalry for the ages is developing into an exciting prospect here and it is in the perfect position to blossom, so it would be appreciated if you guys stopped taking private jets together!
It’s important to mention that there are several players within the tennis scene at the moment that will threaten, however, these two are something special when they face one another.
Alcaraz and Sinner’s Beijing extravaganza demonstrated two players who are forces not to be reckoned with, and a rivalry that could emulate what we have seen from the Big Three – Djokovic, Nadal and Federer – for years to come.
Sam Bunce
Featured image courtesy of John Fornander via Unsplash. Image use license found here (Unsplash). No changes were made to this image.
In article image 1 courtesy of @tennistv via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
In article image 2 courtesy of @carlitosalcarazz via Instagram. No changes were made to this image.
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