In what is being considered one of the best matches of the year, world number two Carlos Alcaraz of Spain beat world number one Jannik Sinner of Italy, 6-7, 6-4. 7-6 in the final of the China Open on Wednesday. The match lasted three hours and 21 minutes, and was the longest match ever in the history of the China Open.
The third set tiebreak was thrilling. Sinner won the first three points, before Alcaraz won seven points in a row. There were 252 points in the total match. Alcaraz had the edge, as he won 132 points, compared to 120 for Sinner.
Alcaraz beat two other formidable Russian opponents in Beijing this week. He defeated the seventh seed and two-time grand slam semifinalist Karen Khachanov, 7-5, 6-2 in the quarterfinals, and 2021 United States Open champion and the China Open third seed in the semifinals, Daniil Medvedev, 7-5, 6-3.
This was the 10th time ever that Alcaraz has faced Sinner, with Alcaraz winning six times. All matches have been within the last three years. Alcaraz won the first meeting in the second round of the 2021 Paris Masters Indoor (7-6, 7-5). Sinner won the next two matches in 2022. The first came in the fourth round of Wimbledon (6-1, 6-4, 6-7, 6-3), and the second came in the final of the 2022 Croatian Open (6-7, 6-1, 6-1). Then in the final meeting of 2022, Alcaraz beat Sinner 6-3, 6-7, 6-7, 7-5, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the United States Open.
In 2023, Sinner won two of three matches. Alcaraz beat Sinner 7-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of Indian Wells, before Sinner won 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 in the semifinals of Miami, and 7-6, 6-1 in the semifinals in Beijing. Then in 2024, Alcaraz won in the semifinals of Indian Wells 1-6, 6-3, 6-2, and the semifinals of Roland Garros, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.
This was Alcaraz’s fourth title in 2024. He also won Indian Wells, the French Open and Wimbledon.
