Jannik Sinner reaches the final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000. The South Tyrolean, number one in the ranking, beat Alexander Zverev 7-6(9) 5-7 7-6(4) after more than three hours of play, obtaining the first victory on hard courts in six direct meetings and becoming the second player to reach more than one Masters 1000 final in the season after Andrey Rublev, champion in Madrid and finalist in Montreal. The Italian is the player with the most titles on the ATP circuit in 2024 (4) and has thus equalled Casper Ruud’s seasonal record of finals (5). In Cincinnati he will play his fifth career Masters 1000 final (2-2 his record so far) and will ensure he remains world number 1 at least until the end of September. He will thus surpass 13 weeks in total at the top of the ATP ranking, one more than Boris Becker who remained number 1 for 12 weeks in total: from 28 January to 27 February and then from 8 July to 8 September 1991.
Sinner will reach at least 16 weeks as number 1, that is, remain at the top of the rankings until September 29, that is, until the conclusion of the ATP 500 in Beijing, which he won last year. The only one who could have mathematically stood between Sinner and this goal was precisely that Alexander Zverev, whom the Italian defeated in the semifinals at the Masters 1000 in Cincinnati. Sinner has 9410 points in the live ranking, and will lose only 180 after the US Open given his elimination in the round of 16 a year ago. Zverev stopped at 7035 points; from which the 360 of the US Open 2023 should ideally be subtracted.
So his maximum achievable score after the US Open is 8675. Too little. Not even Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic can mathematically surpass Sinner after the UA. The Serb, who skipped Cincinnati after winning the title last year, is also the defending champion in New York and will not be able to go beyond 7460 points. Alcaraz has 7360, but will lose the 720 result of the semi-final at the 2023 US Open. In New York, therefore, his maximum points haul will be 8860. Less than those with which Sinner will leave for Flushing Meadows.
#Cincinnati #Sinner #beats #Zverev #flies #final
