Carlos Alcaraz has enjoyed a perfect return to tennis after his post-Wimbledon break, and will now face off against Jannik Sinner yet again, this time in the Cincinnati Open final.
It marks a rematch of their Wimbledon and Italian Open showdowns, both of which were for the title.
Nowadays, given their respective seedings, it feels like anytime they meet, it will be to contest the sport’s greatest honours.
Whoever comes out on top will have given themselves the perfect preparation for the upcoming US Open, in what is the final chance to claim a major before the season starts to wind down.
And yet, even before Carlos Alcaraz had beaten Alexander Zverev in a semi-final marred by the latter’s struggling fitness, he was told what both his best and weakest qualities were.
Carlos Alcaraz told what his ‘weakest quality’ is as a player
The person who offered this insight was Rick Macci, famed for being the formative coach of both Serena and Venus Williams before they went on to accomplish greatness.
His voice within the tennis community is a relentless one, and few can deny his credentials given the legendary figures he will forever be associated with.
Carlos best quality is he has every shot in the book and every match he will give it a look. His weakest quality is he has every shot in the book and sometimes lets you off the hook. @carlosalcaraz
— Rick Macci (@RickMacci) August 16, 2025
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Ironically, he named the same trait for both Alcaraz’s best and worst qualities, suggesting that the never-ending bag of tricks makes him both dangerous, but also confused at times.
After all, it can be hard to decide when and where to use certain shots, knowing that they are all at his disposal.
Carlos Alcaraz reaches yet another Cincinnati Open final
Despite this critical claim from Macci, wrapped up in what feels oddly like a compliment, Alcaraz has quietly cruised into yet another Cincinnati Open final.
This time, he will have Jannik Sinner to deal with, having lost to Novak Djokovic last time out in what many still regard as one of the greatest best-of-three matches ever played.
In a match that lasted just shy of four hours, it was the Serbian who claimed his revenge after Alcaraz had dethroned him in the Wimbledon final just a month earlier.
Since that clash two years ago, the Spaniard’s budding dominance has been met by Sinner, with the two establishing a duopoly at the apex of the men’s game that seemingly no one can trouble.
The fact that they are set to meet again in yet another final, in the third straight event that both have entered, does little to dispel this notion.
Alas, it offers fans yet another iteration of this mouth-watering clash, which seems poised to be one of the best in the sport’s history should they continue meeting in the final of some of the most elite competitions.