(Paris) Jannik Sinner, 10e world player, won his first tournament of the season, the sixth of his career, on Sunday at Umag, winning 6-7 (5/7), 6-1, 6-1 on Croatian clay against the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 5e world and defending champion.
Updated yesterday at 5:08 p.m.
The 20-year-old Italian played his first final since Antwerp on Sunday in October 2021.
“I’ve had a tough year so far, but I kept working hard to finally lift a trophy,” the winner said.
Sinner had already beaten Alcaraz less than a month ago, on the London lawn of Wimbledon at the Stade des 8are of final.
Sunday, the two men were first illustrated by their solidity in the service during a first set closed during the decisive game by Alcaraz, whose face-off was difficult to read for his opponent.
At the start of the second set, Sinner saved six break points at 0-1 before flying away to conclude 6-1 in front of an Alcaraz suddenly adrift on his first ball.
“These six break points saved may have been the key to the game. I managed to raise my level of play at that time, ”analyzed the Italian.
Alcaraz, who had played an extended semi-final on Saturday against the tough Giulio Zeppieri (from the qualifications), during which he had twisted his right ankle during the 2e round, seemed physically struggling against an opponent who had not had to draw on his reserves so much to reach the final.
Blunted, Alcaraz lost 12 of the last 14 games of the game, conceding the final set 6-1.
As a consolation, the 19-year-old Spaniard, who has already won four titles this year (Rio, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid) will nevertheless climb to the 4th on Monday.e world place of the next ATP ranking.
“I haven’t played very well this week and Jannik deserves his victory. But I intend to find the solution to beat him next time, ”said Alcaraz.
Sinner became the third Italian to win at Umag after Fabio Fognini in 2016 and Marco Cecchinato in 2018.