IMAGE: Jannik Sinner’s triumph at the Masters 1000 event follows his Grand Slam breakthrough at the Australian Open in January and is his fifth title of the year. Photographs: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
World number one Jannik Sinner beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-2 at the Cincinnati Open final on Monday, showing that despite recent health struggles he will still be the man to beat at the upcoming US Open in New York.
The 23-year-old, who has been struggling over the last couple months with a hip issue and who missed the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis, was error-prone to start the contest and came up limping after several points in the tight first set.
But he found his game in the tiebreak, absorbing the American’s powerful serve on set point. Tiafoe’s next shot sailed long as the Italian grabbed the opener.
Tiafoe, who has struggled to find momentum and wins this season, could not take advantage of his three break point opportunities in the first set and fell into a 2-0 hole to start the second from which he was never able to recover.
Sinner rifled a forehand winner up the line for a 4-1 lead in the second and completed the win with an unreturnable serve on match point.
Sinner’s triumph at the Masters 1000 event follows his Grand Slam breakthrough at the Australian Open in January and is his fifth title of the year and first at the tournament in Ohio.
Critically, Sinner has now shown that he can win even when not 100% healthy, an attribute he may need to utilize at Flushing Meadows where defending champion Novak Djokovic and world number three Carlos Alcaraz are the other hot favorites.
“It was a very difficult week, tough week. I’m very happy about today’s match,” Sinner said in his on-court interview.
“It was very tough mentally… We both felt a lot of tension, but I’m very glad about the level I played, especially in the important moments.”
Sinner said his sole focus now is on getting ready for the year’s final major.
“Now, for sure, it’s important to recover, to be to be ready for New York,” he said.
“I’m very happy to be in a position where I am and just trying to keep going mentally with this hunger to keep playing.”
Tiafoe will rise to world number 20 and will take confidence into the U.S. Open after his gutsy three-set win over Dane Holger Rune in Sunday’s semi-final.
“I’ve been struggling for a really long time so to have a week like this really means a lot,” Tiafoe said.
Aryna Sabalenka emotional after Cincinnati title
IMAGE: Aryna Sabalenka broke through for the first time since the Australian Open and won her first WTA 1000 tournament title of the year. Photograph: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports/Reuters
No. 3 seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus defeated No. 6 seed Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 in an hour and 15 minutes to win the Cincinnati Open on Monday in Mason, Ohio.
Sabalenka broke through for the first time since the Australian Open and won her first WTA 1000 tournament title of the year by stopping the red-hot Pegula, who won last week’s WTA 1000 event in Toronto.
It was an emotional win for Sabalenka, 26, who missed Wimbledon last month due to a shoulder injury.
“This trophy means a lot, it is a really big achievement, especially coming after injury, with this fear of getting injured again,” Sabalenka said in her post-match interview.
“My team did everything they could to make sure I felt as good as I can and I am proud of myself I was able to handle all of those emotions.”
Sabalenka hit 10 aces with just one double fault. Pegula, meanwhile, had five aces but also committed five double faults.
Sabalenka converted a break-point opportunity three times in five opportunities. The most important came in the 11th game of the second set, one game after Pegula broke Sabalenka’s serve to tie the set 5-5.
Once Sabalenka had regained control, the match was hers to lose. She won on her first match point in the 12th game.
Sabalenka is set to pass Coco Gauff for the No. 2 spot in the world rankings.
To reach the final, Sabalenka had to defeat No. 10 seed Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 6-3, 6-2 in the quarterfinals and upset No. 1 seed Iga Swiatek of Poland 6-3, 6-3 in the semis.
Pegula was vying to become the first woman in the Open Era to win the Canadian and Cincinnati Opens back to back. She entered Monday on a nine-match winning streak.
Pegula said in her on-court interview that facing Sabalenka was like facing Serena Williams with the way she served on Sunday.
“I don’t know, I may have wanted Serena instead of Aryna today,” Pegula said.
Pegula moved into the top eight of the Race to the WTA Finals leaderboard thanks to her showings in Toronto and Cincinnati. The top eight at season’s end qualify for the season-ending WTA Finals Riyadh.
