Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will clash in Sunday’s Cincinnati Open final after the world’s top two players won their respective semi-finals on Saturday.
World No 1 Sinner and second-ranked Alcaraz will meet in a repeat of the French Open and Wimbledon finals earlier this summer.
Sinner celebrated his 24th birthday by halting French wildcard Terence Atmane’s surprise run to the last four in a 7-6 (4) 6-2 win.
World No 136 Atmane – who had never been inside the top 100 but will now climb to 69 – went toe-to-toe with Sinner in a tight opening set, but the defending champion found an extra gear in the tie-break and cruised to victory in the second.
It was Sinner’s 26th successive hard-court win and his 12th in a row on all surfaces.
“It was a very, very tough challenge,” Sinner said on court after being serenaded with “Happy Birthday” by the crowd. “Every time when you play against someone completely new it’s very difficult.”
Alcaraz brushed off Alexander Zverev in straight sets, beating the German 6-4 6-3.
In the doubles event, British pair Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool saw their 22-match winning streak come to an end in the semi-finals.
The Wimbledon champions had won their last four events but lost to Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram 7-6 (4) 7-6 (2).
PA
