Jannik Sinner continued his impressive run on hard courts against Terence Atmane to set up a Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner changed his serve against Atmane, where he recorded his 200th ATP Tour victory on hard courts, and 26th in a row.
He overcame the Frenchman 7-6(7-4), 6-2 after 86 minutes on his 24th birthday to reach an eighth ATP Masters 1000 final.
Awaiting world number one Sinner in the Cincinnati Open final is world number two Alcaraz, who beat Alexander Zverev in their semifinal.
The Italian didn’t face a single break point against qualifier Atmane, who had previously beaten the likes of Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune.
Jannik Sinner stunned by his tennis career ahead of Cincinnati Open final
Sinner meanwhile, playing his first event since winning Wimbledon, has beaten seeded players Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo among others so far in Cincinnati.
Asked post-match if anything about his consistent high level has surprised him, the Italian replied: “I do surprise myself.
“Nothing is normal. Because whenever you have a great result, you still don’t know when you reach this point again.
“If it’s a Masters final, if it’s a Grand Slam final, or even a 500 final, you never know. So every time when you are in that position, you try to enjoy it, but also you fight for it.
“It’s a good balance of everything. And as I always said, I never thought that I will be number one in the world when I started my young career back in the days, I was never the kind of guy who said I’m going to be number one and I will never be.
“It’s not what I feel like, it’s good from my point of view. I always try to give 100% and I will keep showing the level I have hopefully, but at the same time, if you want to improve as a player, sometimes you have to drop a little bit because you are trying new things.
“You try to serve and volley a couple times more. And then if you want to be a better player, you have to do that. And that’s what I will aim for from now on.”
Jannik Sinner names the ATP tournament he loves ahead of the Cincinnati Open final
He has every right to be extremely satisfied with his stunning career so far, with four Grand Slam trophies among his 20 ATP titles.
Another success is very much on the cards on Monday, although his fierce rival Alcaraz will be eager to exact revenge for Wimbledon.
Sinner was also asked for his thoughts on the current schedule as he takes part in his first tournament since that triumph at the All England Club.
The Cincinnati Open continues the North American hard court swing, and has been expanded to two weeks from this season, resulting in a rare Monday final.
Asked if he likes having an off day or if he would have preferred a Sunday final, the Italian replied: “It’s a question that’s quite irrelevant now to answer, because we are in that position.
“My personal view, I love the one-week events. I love when you see that the tournament in Monaco, for example, for Monte Carlo, you have this one-week event, and you have the first round matches that are incredibly good.
“And if one good seeded player loses, the next match is an incredible match still. And you have the quarterfinals and you know exactly when you buy the tickets, you have the quarterfinals, and then you have the semifinal which is Saturday, and then you have the final on Sunday.
| Result | Year | Tournament | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Win | 2024 | Australian Open | Hard | Daniil Medvedev | 3–6, 3–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–3 |
| Win | 2024 | US Open | Hard | Taylor Fritz | 6–3, 6–4, 7–5 |
| Win | 2025 | Australian Open | Hard | Alexander Zverev | 6–3, 7–6(7–4), 6–3 |
| Loss | 2025 | French Open | Clay | Carlos Alcaraz | 6–4, 7–6(7–4), 4–6, 6–7(3–7), 6–7(2–10) |
| Win | 2025 | Wimbledon | Grass | Carlos Alcaraz | 4–6, 6–4, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Loss | 2025 | US Open | Hard | Carlos Alcaraz | 2–6, 6–3, 1–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2026 | Wimbledon | Grass | Alexander Zverev | 6–7(7–9), 7–6(7–2), 6–3, 6–4 |
“And now I lost a little bit the view of when actually a final is, because it used to be always Sunday. Now here it’s Monday.
“In Toronto it’s Wednesday or Thursday. So it’s difficult even for us players, we lose a little bit the days of the week I would say. That’s the only thing.
“But if I have a day off or not, can be good. If I have a three-hour match today, tomorrow I have a day off, it’s good.
“If not, I would like to play tomorrow, yes, but if I would have an incredibly long match today, I would love to play Monday. So it always depends on the view.”
The world number one does have more time than usual to prepare for another final, which represents his fourth of the season against Alcaraz.
The Spaniard emerged victorious at the Italian Open and the French Open, with the world number one then exacting his revenge at Wimbledon.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
