Jannik Sinner pushed his win percentage for 2024 to 92% after reaching the China Open final.
The Italian is now one win away from successfully defending the title in Beijing after beating Carlos Alcaraz in the 2023 semi-finals on the way to the title.
A year later, the 23-year-old will square off against the French Open and Wimbledon winner in Wednesday’s championship match.
This will mark their first meeting since contesting an exciting five-set match in the semi-finals of Roland Garros in June.
Carlos Alcaraz is aiming for his first title in Asia while Sinner will aim to defeat his rival for the first time since they met in the Chinese capital a year ago.
What does Jannik Sinner expect from his China Open final against Carlos Alcaraz?
Despite not having his best start to the tournament, Jannik Sinner has gradually improved throughout the rounds.
After needing three sets to defeat Nicolas Jarry and Roman Safiullin in his opening two matches Sinner claimed a 6-2, 7-6(8) win over Jiri Lehecka in the quarter-finals.
Sinner booked his spot in the final after beating home favourite Yunchaokete Bu after a stern semi-final test.
The World number one will now face the ultimate test against Alcaraz in the final, and he expects a very tactical battle.
“It’s going to be a tough match. We know each other very well now, but every match is different, so the situation on the court is also a bit different than it was the last two matches. But let’s see,” Sinner said in his on-court interview.
“I’m happy to be again here in the final. My season is going very, very good and playing finals is always a great moment. I just hope tomorrow is going to be a good match from both of us.
“Of course tomorrow is going to be completely different. We know each other very well. It’s going to be tactical, but I’m looking forward to it.”
Jannik Sinner is searching for his first win over Carlos Alcaraz in 2024
Sinner has had an extraordinary year in which he won two Grand Slams and became the World number one. However, one thing Sinner has been unable to do this season is defeat Alcaraz.
Their first meeting this season came in the Indian Wells semi-finals. Alcaraz registered a 1-6 6-3 6-2 win to end Sinner’s unbeaten start to the 2024 campaign.
Their next meeting came at the French Open with a spot in the final on the line. Alcaraz found himself behind on two occasions, before coming back to seal a 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 win.
Alcaraz has now won five of their nine meetings and Sinner will aim to level their rivalry when they clash for the 10th time on Wednesday.
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