The Cincinnati Masters 1000 had an unexpected outcome. Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz lifted the trophy after the withdrawal of Italian Jannik Sinner, current number one in the ATP rankings and defending champion, who was unable to continue after just 23 minutes of play. The scoreboard was a resounding 5-0 in favor of the Murcian when the match was stopped.

"Sorry Jannik," Alcaraz wrote on the television camera at the end of the match, in a gesture of respect for his opponent.

A month ago, both had starred in another high-voltage final at Wimbledon, where the Italian took the victory. By 2025, they had already met in three finals: Rome and Roland Garros, won by Alcaraz, and London, won by Sinner.

The Cincinnati final was the fourth battle of the year between two of the most dominant players on the circuit.

A short final marked by injury

The match began with worrying signs for Sinner. He lost his serve to love in the first game, something unusual in his tennis. In his next turn on serve, he suffered again and Alcaraz broke him again, quickly going 3-0 up. The world number one looked disconnected, lacking energy and not looking for directions from his bench.

With the score at 4-0, Sinner tried to react, but a double fault handed Alcaraz another break. He then sought medical attention. Doctors examined him on court, and the Italian explained that he felt no control over his body and could not continue competing.

The title was Alcaraz's sixth of the year, after winning titles in Rotterdam, Monte Carlo, Rome, Roland Garros, and Queen's. In Cincinnati, he overcame a demanding route: he defeated Bosnian Damir Dzumhur, Serbian Hamad Mededovic, Italian Luca Nardi, Russian Andrey Rublev, and German Alexander Zverev before facing Sinner. This was his second final in Cincinnati. In 2023, he had lost to Serbian Novak Djokovic, but this time it was a different story. The victory allows him to close the ranking points gap with Sinner just before the start of the US Open, where the Italian is defending his title.