World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz won his maiden Cincinnati Open title on Monday after defending champion Jannik Sinner was forced to retire towards the end of the first set due to illness.
World No. 1 Sinner was down 0-5 in the opener when he told the chair umpire that he was unable to play anymore.
The retirement also puts a question mark on the Italian’s availability for the mixed doubles event at US Open 2025 where he, along with Czechia’s Katerina Siniakova, is supposed to play the opening round in New York on Tuesday.
It was the fourth meeting of the season between Sinner and Alcaraz and the first one since the former’s four-set win in the Wimbledon final.
The first signs of Sinner’s predicament came when he failed to win a single point on his serve, usually a reliable weapon for him, in the opening game. He was down 0-40 in the third game when he finally claimed one.
After a double fault at 30-40 to lose the fifth game in a row, the Italian threw in the towel.
More to follow…