Jannik Sinner Wins Cincinnati Open

Jannik Sinner has shown the world the incredible tennis he is capable of. But it was grit and determination that he relied on to capture the Cincinnati Open title.

After battling through back-to-back three-setters against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings surged past home favorite Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-2 to lift the trophy at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

The 23-year-old overcame Tiafoe in one hour and 37 minutes to move to 15-4 in tour-level finals. He now owns an ATP Tour-leading five trophies this season following triumphs in Melbourne, Rotterdam, Miami and Halle, and is the only player to claim two ATP Masters 1000 crowns in 2024.

This week was the perfect example of a champion finding a way to win despite not being at his absolute sharpest. The Italian was seemingly hampered by his hip, at times favoring it and limping between points.

But when Sinner needed to, he produced jaw-dropping ball-striking to knock down every challenge in front of him. He played a tie-break fitting of his top seed to take the lead against a resurgent Tiafoe, who also persevered to reach the final, saving two match points in his semi-final against Holger Rune.

From there, the American had no answer for Sinner’s baseline play. Tiafoe missed a forehand long in the first game of the second set to relinquish the first service break of the match, and he was never able to regain touch with his opponent.

“It has been a tough week, some ups and downs, which is normal to have,” Sinner said. “But how I handled the very important moments in each match, I'm very happy.”

As the match wore on, Sinner grew increasingly confident and laced multiple forehand winners down the line on the run. It seemed everything he touched on that wing turned to gold on center court. The harder he swung, the more the ball landed.