World number 1 Jannik Sinner beat Bu Yinchaokete 6-3 7-6 (7-3) in his 10th semifinal of the season to set up a blockbuster final against Carlos Alcaraz at the China Open in Beijing.
Sinner has extended his winning streak to 15 consecutive matches and won 6 titles this year, including two Grand Slam titles at the Australian Open and at the US Open, two Masters 1000 tournaments in Miami and Cincinnati and two ATP 500 titles in Rotterdam and Halle. Alcaraz has won eight consecutive matches and claimed two Grand Slam titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon as well as the Olympic silver medal in Paris.
Bu saved two break points to hold serve in the second game to hold serve to 1-1. Sinner fended off three break points in the fifth game before converting one of the six break points he had in the opening set to take a 4-2 lead. Bu saved two set points in the eighth game to hold serve at deuce for 5-3. Sinner served out the first set on his third set point.
Sinner won a tight second set in the tie-break to hold off Bu. He earned a total of five break points at 2-2 in the fifth and seventh games. Sinner went down 15-30 at 4-5, but he held serve to draw level to 5-5. Sinner earned the first mini-break to take a 1-0 lead. Bu pulled back on serve for 1-2. Sinner won four consecutive points to race out to a 5-1 lead and served an ace to convert his third match point after just over two hours. Sinner has won 17 of his 18 tie-breaks since Halle. He lost the only tie-break against Danil Medvedev at Wimbledon in that period.
“Today was a very tough match because I did not know him at all, so in the beginning I did not know exactly what to expect, but I tried somehow to get into the rhythm. I felt like the first set I was playing some good tennis and then in the second set I dropped a little bit of intensity. He raised his level. I had some chances in the second set like yesterday to break a bit earlier. I could not use them, so I tried to stay there mentally somehow, which a set can can go very fast, so I am happy to be in the final here”, said Sinner.
Alcaraz leads 5-4 in his head-to-head series against Sinner.
“It’s going to be a tough match. You know each other very well now, but every match very well now, but every match is different, so the situation on the court is also a bit different than it was the last two matches, but let’s see. I am happy to be again here in the final. My season is going very good and playing finals is always a great moment. I just hope tomorrow is going to be a good match from both of us”, said Sinner.
