Italy’s Jannik Sinner rallied to his first Tour title of the year at the Umag Open by fighting back from a set down to beat Carlos Alcaraz.
The world No.10 saved all nine break points he faced during his 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1, win over the Spaniard who broke into the world’s top five for the first time last week. Sinner also won 77% of his first service points to record his eighth consecutive win over a Spanish player this season. The triumph comes less than a month after he beat Alcaraz in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
“I come from a tough year until now,” Sinner said. “We had some unfortunate moments, but we worked every time very hard to play better, to be a better player, a better person, so I’m very happy to be finally lifting a trophy this year, but I know that I have a lot of things to improve… it’s all about the process.”
It was at the start of the second set that the match momentum changed. After dropping the opener and falling behind 0-1, Sinner saved three consecutive break points to draw level during what was a marathon game. From that moment, he impressively won 11 out of the next 12 games played.
“That was a crucial point, I knew I had to stay there,” said Sinner. “He made some unforced errors, so I’m very happy that I won this game, and then after I returned well, and then I raised my level a bit – I think I found a solution.”
Sinner has now won six Tour titles with Umag being the first clay-court event he has triumphed at. In the Open Era, only three other Italian men have won more Tour titles than the 20-year-old – Adriano Panatta (10), Fabio Fognini (nine) and Matteo Berrettini (seven).
There is also a reason for Alcaraz to celebrate. Despite not lifting the title, he has risen to a career-high of fourth in the ATP Pepperstone Rankings this week. It is the second week in a row he has lost a Tour final to an Italian after his three-set defeat to Lorenzo Musetti at the German Open.
“Jannik, this is the second time you have beaten me this year. I will discover how to beat you,” Alcaraz joked during the trophy presentation. “Incredible the level you’ve played this week (in Umag). Great job. Congratulations on everything, I wish you the best of luck for this season.”
“It’s been a good week in this tournament. It’s not the ending we (my team) wanted, but I have to keep working hard to win,” he added.
Heading into the North American swing, Sinner has won 35 Tour matches in 2022 compared to Alcaraz who is currently on 42.
