Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will face off once again in a tournament final after they both booked their place in the final of the Cincinnati Open.
The two best male tennis players on the planet have already faced off three times already this year, with Alcaraz winning their first showdown, the Italian Open final, back in May. A month later, the Spaniard battled back from two sets down to claim French Open glory against Sinner, before the latter then got his revenge at Wimbledon when he bested Alcaraz to win his first SW19 major title.
Both now just need to win one major each, the French Open for Sinner and the Australian Open for Alcaraz, to complete a career Grand Slam. But before they are able to attempt to achieve the feat next year, they will first have to face off in Cincinnati on Monday, following a tournament hit by bad weather in Ohio.
Alcaraz booked his place in the final by beating Alexander Zverev, who required a medical timeout during the second set, 6-4, 6-3, while Sinner beat Terence Atmane 7-6 (4), 6-2.
In making the semi-finals, Atmane, who boasts an IQ of 158, which rivals that of Albert Einstein (160), produced a string of impressive performances, knocking out Flavio Cobolli, Joao Fonseca, Taylor Fritz, and Holger Rune.
However, when he came up against the world no.1, Sinner, he was no match for the three-time major winner. Posting on Instagram after his defeat, Atmane shared a photo of himself and Sinner embracing at the net.
He captioned the post: “I gave my all today but it wasn’t enough against a true [alien emoji].”
Following the defeat to Sinner, the Frenchman was also in a reflective mood on the court. “Absolutely crazy, insane. I still cannot believe that I made the semifinals here,” said Atmane of his run.
“Playing against Sinner today was also a very good memory for myself, and I will remember that for a long time.”
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“I think that he was just better than me in the second set. Simple as that,” he said. “He took all the responsibilities in the second set. Me, I think that I let him a little bit play his game, just like 1 per cent, and when you play the world No. 1, it’s over already [if you do that].”
He added: “I worked a lot mentally to be able to stabilise myself, trying to put my mind stronger than my emotions.
“I think that’s the key for me to success at a high level. And I think that I will have to repeat this kind of week to make it to the high level.”