Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner in China Open, the best match in men's tennis

And then it was 6-4.

In a match that typified the exciting closeness of their rivalry at the top of men's tennis, Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) to win the China Open in Beijing. The world number 1 came from 2-5 down in the first set, and from 4-6 down in the tiebreak forced him to win the first set. He then led 3-0 in the decisive tiebreak. But Alcaraz then won seven points in a row, including two that reached the height of nonsense, to earn a victory he deserved.

It means Alcaraz has won six of the duo's 10 meetings, including all three here this year, and in the semi-finals of both Indian Wells and the French Open.

He could win in two, I could win in two, he could win in three, I could win in three, Alcaraz said after the match on Tennis TV on the court.

Since losing to Botic van de Zandschulp in the third round of the US Open, Alcaraz has been playing his best tennis of 2024 and was disappointed that he lost the first set. He had more of an edge. He did what he has done all tournament in Beijing, and also at the Davis Cup: flying to the net to hit volleys, throwing forehands into the corners of the court and hitting passing shots. He scored 0–15 in all six of Sinners' service games, earning five break points, including three in the second game of the set, but only converted one.

While Alcaraz could call on his best tennis more freely, Sinner found his when he needed it most. He saved all three break points. Then, trailing 5-6 in the first set tiebreak, he smashed Alcaraz's first serve into the open court, leaving the Spaniard only to scramble. Two cheap points later, a set that Alcaraz should have won was out of his reach.

Mentally he is a beast, Alcaraz said about Sinner on the court.

The pattern continued in the second set, with Alcaraz creating opportunities to squander them or let Sinner take them away.

That meant that when the Spaniard broke in the ninth game of the second set, after saving two break points in the eighth, a moment that would normally feel like a momentum swing instead felt more like a fulfillment of what came before gone. In winning the set 6-4, Alcaraz hit 18 winners to 14 unforced errors, with Sinner tied at 10-10.

Alcaraz took the lead with a break in the third game of the third set and then had Sinner on the ropes at 15-40, with a chance to take a 4-1 lead. Sinner once again found a way out. And after trading holds, Alcaraz did the thing he most wants to eliminate from his game. He played his worst tennis, at the worst possible time. Three errors with a 4-3 lead gave Sinner a break back.

It was a temporary break in a match that would otherwise evolve into a crescendo. In what is becoming increasingly famous, Sinner and Alcaraz pushed each other to greater heights. They don't just run for balls that other players can't reach. They run to balls that they couldn't reach either, until the other person forces them to do so.

At 0-3 in the tiebreak, and staring Sinners' record of 18-1 in 19 tiebreaks in the face, it looked like a better understanding of the important points by the Italians would be the difference. Alcaraz instead saved his moments for the most important of them all.

I thought okay, I have to give it my all. Give myself the chance to be close, Alcaraz said on court.

If I lose, at least I went for it.

First he pulled Sinner forward and put away a simple volley for 3-1. Then, after Sinner upended a zapping second serve return with a lob, Alcaraz did it again, only to find himself stretching to reach a disguised push down the line. Still, he shot the ball away for 3-2.

Two more routine points later, he repelled an inside-out forehand for 5-3, and Sinner finally made an error on a big point to put Alcaraz ahead 6-3. This time he did not let go of the lead after three hours and twenty minutes.

---

Where this match plays into the overall structure of their rivalry is difficult to discern. As Sinner was pitted against world number 69 Roman Safiullin on Saturday, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced it would appeal the ruling in the doping case against the world number 1. An independent tribunal convened by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found he was not at fault or negligent for two positive tests for a banned anabolic steroid, but WADA is seeking a one- to two-year ban, and that some culpability Sinner can be attributed.

Sinner, who won the Cincinnati Open just two days before the ITIA published its first ruling, reiterated that he feels safe in believing he did nothing wrong during the Beijing press conferences after admitting at the US Open that people who close to him was a change in his attitude on the field. He did not seem very impressed on Wednesday, even though Alcaraz often played better tennis and now leads the mutual ATP Tour with two victories.

In the broader context of men's tennis, it has partly played a role since the overwhelming US Open quarter-final in 2022. Sinner and Alcaraz are each other's biggest problem. What has changed in the intervening years is that they are now also inarguably everyone's biggest problem, including Novak Djokovic. They split the four majors in 2024, and Alcaraz has returned to world number 2 behind Sinner with his run in Beijing after Alexander Zverev withdrew from the tournament.

Sinner entered the finals with a 59-5 2024 record and a 39-2 record on hard courts; Alcaraz was 47-9 this year. But in their 2024 mini-battle, he is 3-0.

They are the benchmark for men's tennis, and although for how long this remains a matter of the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the figure we should look at most closely is 6-4, Alcaraz.

Ten games later, things only get better from here.

It wasn't the loser you felt for. It was the rest of the field

Analysis from tennis writer Charlie Eccleshare

When you watched this match, it wasn't the loser you felt, because it was the rest of the men's field, probably wondering how on earth they could get close to these two. Perhaps only WADA intervention could do the job.

Sinner and Alcaraz have split four Grand Slams equally in recent years, and this thrilling final underlined just how far ahead of everyone else they are. Both players will gain a ton of confidence from this (not that they need it). Sinner didn't win, but can take pride in being part of such a rivalry.

Losing three times in a row to his great rival will be painful, especially as he was just two points away from victory here, but there is so little between the two, and Sinner remains on course to be number 1 by the end of the year to become of the world.

The way the pair are raising their level among themselves, as the Big Three used to do, is great news for them and for the sport, and terrible news for every other player who comes into contact with them.

---

How Federer, Nadal and Djokovic reshaped tennis

---

(Top photo: Fred Lee/Getty Images)