Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will meet in a final once again on the ATP Tour, after both stars emerged victorious in their semifinal bouts.
Sinner put an end to Terence Atmane’s fairytale run, knocking the qualifier out in straight sets to continue his title defence in Ohio.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, earned a sixth career win over world number three Alexander Zverev to set up a clash with his rival in the championship match.
The two major champions have met in three finals already this year, the most recent of which came at the All England Club, where Sinner won a maiden Wimbledon title.
When they go toe-to-toe once more in Cincinnati, the Spaniard and the Italian will make tennis history.
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz make history in Cincinnati
Sinner and Alcaraz had their first meeting in an ATP Masters 1000 final at the Italian Open in May, which the world number two came out on top in.
They then faced off at the French Open and delivered one of the greatest Grand Slam finals in recent history, going five sets in a match that lasted five hours and 29 minutes.
Alcaraz ultimately won in Paris, but fell to Sinner at Wimbledon in three sets, as the world number one became the first from his country to win a singles title in SW19.
In Cincinnati, they will become the fifth pair in the Open Era to meet in four or more ATP-level finals before turning 25.
Their feat follows iconic rivalries from the past, such as Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and John McEnroe and Ivan Lendl.
The last duo to tally as many final showdowns before their 25th birthdays was Nadal and Novak Djokovic, who did so in 2011.
Carlos Alcaraz’s hard-court head-to-head record with Jannik Sinner
Though hard court is Sinner’s preferred surface, Alcaraz, a clay-court specialist, has a winning record against him on the concrete.
In 2021, at the Paris Masters, they met on a hard court in what marked their very first meeting on the ATP Tour.
| Match | Winner |
|---|---|
| 2024 Beijing Open Final | Alcaraz |
| 2024 Indian Wells Open Semifinal | Alcaraz |
| 2023 China Open Semifinal | Sinner |
| 2023 Miami Open Semifinal | Sinner |
| 2023 Indian Wells Open Semifinal | Alcaraz |
| 2022 US Open Quarterfinal | Alcaraz |
| 2021 Paris Masters Round of 32 | Alcaraz |
Alcaraz took the victory that day and won their next two matchups on the surface at the 2022 US Open en route to the title, and at the 2023 Indian Wells Open.
Sinner replied with two consecutive hard-court victories of his own in 2023, beating his rival in Miami and in Beijing.
Their two most recent clashes went the way of Alcaraz, however, who, in 2024, extended his lead in the head-to-head in Indian Wells and Beijing.
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