2024 China Open: Carlos Alcaraz comes back to beat Jannik Sinner in thrilling Beijing final
The Spanish world number two recovered from losing the first set to defeat world number one Sinner 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3) in the Chinese capital on Wednesday (2 October).
Tennis
Carlos Alcaraz pulled off a stunning comeback across three hours of tennis to beat world number one Jannik Sinner and win the 2024 China Open.
The Spanish star prevailed 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3) in the ATP 500 final on Wednesday (2 October) to win his fourth title of the year in stunning fashion.
World number one Sinner set up a blockbuster final with Alcaraz, whose Beijing run moves him back up to world number two.
This was the third encounter of 2024 between the pair, the Spaniard Alcaraz winning the previous meetings and going into Wednesday’s final with a 5-4 head-to-head lead.
Alcaraz dominated and was on course to cruise to a simple opening set win, playing the better tennis and converting more winners. Yet, with the set at stake, Sinner suddenly turned things around, coming back from 5-2 down to force a tiebreak.
The reset did not seem to faze Alcaraz, who again started out stronger in the tiebreak eager to see out the set.
Sinner however had other ideas, again trailing but forcing his way through from 4-6 down to come back and take an enthralling set of tennis.
If there was any doubt, the tennis on display was nothing short of masterful from both men. Alcaraz’s aggressive net play was pushing his Italian opponent to the edge, while Sinner was finding the gaps with his forceful winners a sight to behold.
Jannik Sinner is the world number one and is hoping to end the year on top.
A back-and-forth encounter in the second set saw Alcaraz’s power prevail, taking control with twice as many winners to level it up to force a decider.
There was little margin between the top two in the final set and three hours of tennis came down to a tiebreak for the title.
Sinner, who had lost just one of his last 19 tiebreaks, raced into a 3-0 lead. But in this tantalisingly tight thriller, Alcaraz responded by winning the next seven points without reply to pull off a simply unbelievable comeback and win the Beijing title.
The China Open was the first Sinner-Alcaraz matchup in an ATP final in two years; they have since battled out five semi-finals including a five-set thriller won by Alcaraz at the French Open earlier this year.