The never-ending battle: Sinner faces Alcaraz again in Cincinnati. The final is tomorrow night.

The Cincinnati Masters 1000 will once again be a battle between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard reached the number one ranking last night in the final of the American tournament. While the Italian defeated Frenchman Terence Atman in straight sets (7-6, 6-2), with a bit more difficulty than expected (at least in the first set), the number two player in the ATP rankings defeated Alexander Zverev, who was hampered by physical problems that limited him in the second set: the final score was 6-4, 6-3.

Alcaraz paid tribute to the German after the match: "It's never easy to play against someone who isn't feeling 100%, and for me it's even more difficult to play against Sascha. He's a great player and a good person; we have a great relationship. We started the match very well, with good rallies, a high level, but suddenly he started to feel unwell. It was a very difficult situation, and I wish him all the best," he added. Now, in his path, Jannik Sinner is back. The world number two will challenge him for what could become his first Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, after losing to Novak Djokovic in the 2023 final. Since April, Alcaraz has reached the final of seven consecutive tournaments. Three of those finals have come against the Italian, with the Spaniard winning two on clay, in Rome and in the epic Roland Garros clash, while the Italian won the last one, on grass at Wimbledon. "I can't wait to face him again," Alcaraz said yesterday. "Thanks to him, I'm showing my best tennis, and it's also fantastic for the fans because we push each other to the limit. I'm ready for the challenge."

Sinner is already thinking about New York

"It was a tough match. Every time you face an opponent you don't know, it's tough. But playing against this type of opponent in the final rounds is even more difficult, the pressure is on," Sinner said last night in a hot interview after his match with Atman, who had eliminated our Flavio Cobolli, Holger Rune, and Taylor Fritz in the previous rounds. "He beat great players and deserved his spot in the semifinals: he can do everything well. I knew I had to be very careful, I think I handled the situation well, I served very well in the first set. I'm happy to be in the final again, we'll see how it goes." "Our goal here, heading into the US Open," Sinner concluded, "was to get some tennis in our legs and at the same time be able to work in the gym to be ready for New York. Tomorrow will be a more relaxed day."

But first, let's get on with another final against Alcaraz, the event is on Monday evening at 9 pm Italian time, live on Sky Sport.