Jannik Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe in straight sets in the final of the Cincinnat tournamenti. The Italian tennis player, number one in the world, obtained his fifth victory of the season by beating the American 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in 1 hour and 36 minutes. With the victory in Cincinnati, Jannik Sinner raised the his third ATP Masters trophy.
The Italian top seed faced a difficult first set, won in a tie-break. At that point Tiafoe’s game faded and the Italian champion quickly closed out the second set. The American, who nevertheless enters the top-20 of the rankings, saved three match points before Sinner won his 15th career title. Cincinnati is the fifth trophy of 2024 for the 23-year-old Italian, who began the season with an Australian Open title.
“I’m happy, it was a very difficult week,” Sinner said. “It was tough mentally, but I tried to do my best. “Frances and I were both tired from the semifinals (played yesterday) and there was a lot of tension. I’m just happy that I maintained my level in the important moments. I managed the situations on the court well. There were many ups and downs – concluded the South Tyrolean – but that’s normal. In the important moments of each match I played well”.
With this victory, Sinner enters the US Open, which will start on August 26, as the big favorite, and with more than 2,000 points of advantage over the world number two Novak Djokovic.. Against Tiafoe, Sinner hit 29 service winners, including 13 aces, and broke the American twice in eight attempts. “I’m really tired,” Tiafoe told Sinner in a post-match congratulation. “I’m not used to playing so many matches like you ‘big ones’.” The two dueled for nearly an hour in the opening set, with the Italian hitting 10 aces before reaching a tiebreaker. A crack in Tiafoe’s defense was enough to give Sinner two set point opportunities. In the second set, with a 4-1 lead, the Italian had to fight back with Tiafoe saving three match points to go up 5-2 before Sinner managed to take the set and the victory.