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A completely exhausted Jannik Sinner has to withdraw from the Cincinnati final.
imago
The rush to meet deadlines in tennis is wearing down more and more professionals. Now even the best player in the world can no longer play and has to retire in the final. What does this mean for the US Open?
Just over 20 minutes - Jannik Sinner couldn't last any longer in the heat of Cincinnati. Completely exhausted and sweaty, the world number one sat on his chair like a heap of misery and had to retire from the eagerly awaited final against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz at 0:5 from his point of view.
A few days before the start of the US Open, this year's Australian Open and Wimbledon champion is in a precarious state of fitness. Like Alexander Zverev before him, Sinner reached his physical limits at the Masters 1000 tournament. The excessive rush for dates in tennis takes its toll.
"I'm super, super sorry to have to disappoint you," said Sinner, completely dismayed, addressing the spectators who had only got to see a mini-final for their expensive tickets. "I haven't felt good since yesterday. I thought it would get better overnight, but it got worse. I tried to go out and at least make a small match of it, but I couldn't anymore."
While Alcaraz and Poland's Iga Swiatek, who beat Italy's Jasmine Paolini 7-5, 6-4 in the final, flew to New York immediately after the two finals, Sinner must first regain her strength.
He now has a few days to recover, said the world number one with a view to the US Open starting on Sunday. "And then we'll get back to work and hopefully be ready," said the Italian about the coming days with his team.
The restructured mixed competition in Flushing Meadows should therefore go ahead without Sinner. Just a few hours after his retirement in Cincinnati, the Italian was due to play again on Tuesday with the Czech Katerina Siniakova against Zverev and Belinda Bencic - hardly imaginable in view of the pictures from Monday (local time).
In the final, Alcaraz was clearly superior to his battered opponent from the start in temperatures of over 30 degrees. The Spaniard took the first service game from Sinner at zero. The Italian did manage a few strong points here and there. However, it became clear early on that the two best tennis players of the day were not on an equal footing.
"That's not the way I want to win trophies," explained the 22-year-old Alcaraz after his brief appearance. "I hope you're fit again soon," he said, addressing Sinner, against whom he had recently suffered a bitter defeat in the Wimbledon final. "Sorry, Jannik," Alcaraz wrote on the TV camera lens after the match.
Alcaraz consoles Sinner after his defeat.
imago
Before the start of the last Grand Slam tournament of this tennis year, the question marks behind the top players are piling up. After all, Zverev also had to contend with major physical problems in Cincinnati and, like Sinner in the final, was unable to produce a worthy opponent in the semi-final against Alcaraz. And record Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic has not played a single match since his semi-final exit in Wimbledon against Sinner, where he was also suffering from ailments.
19.08.2025, 14:10
