Carlos Alcaraz battled past Jannik Sinner in a blockbuster Next Gen clash after 2 hours and 18 minutes to reach the third round at the Paris Rolex Masters in Paris Bercy.
Sinner converted his second break point in the fourth deuce in a nine-minute first game. Alcaraz rallied from 30-40 down to break back in the second game. Sinner saved two break points in the fourth game to hold serve for 2-2. Both players held his next service games en route to the tie-break. Alcaraz earned two mini-breaks to race out to a 4-0 lead. Sinner pulled one mini-break back for 1-4, but Alcaraz won the final three points to win the tie-break 7-1.
Alcaraz earned three consecutive break points in the third game of the second set, but Sinner saved them to hold serve for 2-1. Sinner fended off three more break points in the fifth game. Alcaraz held his serve at deuce in a 10-point eighth game for the first time in the match. Alcaraz finally earned the break in the 11th game at 5-5 15-40, when Sinner hit a forehand into the net. Alcaraz has won 27th match on the ATP Tour this year.
“I am so happy for this win as Jannik was fighting for a spot at the Nitto ATP Finals. It’s my third top 10 win of the year. I think Jannik and I will have a great rivalry in the future”, said Alcaraz.
Alcaraz had beaten Sinner 6-2 3-6 6-3 as a unranked 15-year-old player in their only previous head-to-head match on his Challenger Tour debut in Alicante.
Alcaraz won his first ATP title in Umag and reached the quarter final at the US Open after scoring his first top 10 win against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round. Last week the Spaniard beat this year’s Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini to reach the semifinal at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna.
After Alcaraz’s win over Sinner, Hubert Hurkacz is now in eighth place in the ATP Race to Turin and holds the final qualifying spot for the Nitto ATP Finals. Hurkacz beat US qualifier Tommy Paul in straight sets. Sinner enjoyed a career-best season with a record of 45 wins to 20 defeats and four ATP Tour titles in Melbourne, Washington, Sofia and Antwerp.
