Alcaraz wins the Cincinnati Open after Sinner retires in the first set because of illness

Carlos Alcaraz is seen in this image.

CINCINNATI — Carlos Alcaraz won the Cincinnati Open title in a little more than 20 minutes on Monday after top-ranked Jannik Sinner was forced to retire because of illness during the first set.

Meeting in the final for the fourth time this year and first since Wimbledon, Sinner fell behind 5-0 in the first set with nine unforced errors. He was seen with an icepack on his head during a break and retired after playing just 22 minutes.

“Didn’t feel great from yesterday,” Sinner said. “Also during the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give a match. But it was not meant to be for me today.”

It was only the third time the Cincinnati Open men’s final ended in a retirement, and the first since 2011 when Novak Djokovic stopped playing in the second set because of a shoulder injury.

“Wanted to wish Jannik a speedy recovery and in a few days, hopefully he’s going to be OK,” Alcaraz said. “For myself, I am really, really happy to lift the trophy. I lost the final here in 2023. I wanted really badly this trophy.”

Sinner, who turned 24 on Saturday, was on 12-match winning streak and had won 26 straight matches on hard courts. He was bidding to become the first player to win back-to-back men’s Cincinnati Open titles since Roger Federer in 2014 and ’15.

Alcaraz, who is ranked No. 2, now holds a 9-5 advantage in his matchups with the Italian.

Sinner won in four sets at Wimbledon while the Spaniard won a five-set thriller at the French Open and in straight sets in the Rome Masters in May.

Another classic matchup wasn’t to be on Monday. Sinner received medical attention after having his serve broken for the third time and retired moments later.

“After the third game, I just noticed that he wasn’t feeling good,” Alcaraz said. “I know him. I’ve been battling against him, having great matches, great battles. I noticed he was missing more often. It’s pretty weird from him.”

It was only the third time the top two men’s players have met in the Cincinnati Open final, the last being No. 2 Djokovic and No. 1 Alcaraz in 2022 and No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Djokovic in 2012.

No. 3 Iga Swiatek faced No. 7 Jasmine Paolini in the women’s final later Monday.

The Cincinnati Open is considered a tuneup for the U.S. Open, which begins Sunday in New York. The last two years, both the men’s and women’s Cincinnati Open champions went on to win the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Jeff Wallner, The Associated Press