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Carlos Alcaraz Claims Cincinnati Open Title After Jannik Sinner Retires in First Set

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Carlos Alcaraz didn’t have to break much of a sweat to claim the Cincinnati Open title.

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star claimed the title in just over 20 minutes on Monday after top-ranked Jannik Sinner was forced to retire due to illness during the first set.

Carlos AlcarazMeeting in the final for the fourth time this year and first since Wimbledon, Sinner fell behind 5-0 in the first set with nine unforced errors. He was seen with an icepack on his head during a break and retired after playing only 22 minutes.

“Didn’t feel great from yesterday,” Sinner said. “Also, during the night, I thought I would recover a bit better, but it was not the case. I just tried to go out for the fans, trying to give a match. But it was not meant to be for me today.”

It was only the third time the Cincinnati Open men’s final ended in a retirement, and the first since 2011 when Novak Djokovic stopped playing in the second set because of a shoulder injury.

“Wanted to wish Jannik a speedy recovery and in a few days, hopefully he’s going to be OK,” Alcaraz said. “For myself, I am really, really happy to lift the trophy. I lost the final here in 2023. I wanted really badly this trophy.”

Sinner, who turned 24 on Saturday, was on a 12-match winning streak and had won 26 straight matches on hard courts. He was bidding to become the first player to win back-to-back men’s Cincinnati Open titles since Roger Federer in 2014 and ’15.

Alcaraz, who is ranked No. 2, now holds a 9-5 advantage in his matchups with Sinner.

This year, Sinner won in four sets at Wimbledon, and Alcaraz won a five-set thriller at the French Open and in straight sets at the Rome Masters in May.

Another classic matchup wasn’t to be Monday. Sinner received medical attention after having his serve broken for the third time and retired moments later.

“After the third game, I just noticed that he wasn’t feeling good,” Alcaraz said. “I know him. I’ve been battling against him, having great matches, great battles. I noticed he was missing more often. It’s pretty weird from him.”

It was only the third time the top two men’s players have met in the Cincinnati Open final, the previous times were No. 2 Djokovic and No. 1 Alcaraz in 2022 and No. 1 Roger Federer and No. 2 Djokovic in 2012.

The Cincinnati Open is considered a tuneup for the U.S. Open, which begins Sunday in New York. The past two years, both the men’s and women’s Cincinnati Open champions went on to win the final Grand Slam tournament of the year.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Taylor Fritz to Reach Wimbledon Final

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Carlos Alcaraz is one step closer to a three-peat…

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star moved within one victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon championship and sixth Grand Slam title overall by taking down Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) on Friday.

Carlos AlcarazNo. 2 seed Alcaraz takes a 24-match winning streak into the final Sunday, when he’ll face No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who took apart 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in straight sets 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 on Friday afternoon.

“Not thinking about the winning streak. Not thinking about the results at all. Thinking about … my dream,” Alcaraz said. “Right now, I don’t want to think about Sunday, to be honest. I just want to enjoy this moment, enjoy that I qualified [for] another final.”

Alcaraz opened as a -150 favorite over Sinner (+100) for the men’s Wimbledon final, according to ESPN BET odds. Alcaraz (+120) and Sinner (+190) were the sportsbook’s two favorites to win the tournament, as well as its most-popular future plays, from the beginning with a combined 76.7% of the handle going into Friday’s semifinals.

Alcaraz is 5-0 in major finals, including wins over Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon finals, and a five-set comeback win over Sinner at the French Open a month ago.

Fritz had two chances to force a fifth set against Alcaraz, leading 6-4 in the tiebreaker. But Alcaraz collected the next four points to finish off the win, then rocked back on his heels, spread his arms wide and screamed.

“I’m just really proud about the way that I stayed calm,” Alcaraz said, “and then [was] thinking clearly.”

That wasn’t the only time Fritz made things interesting. He accumulated more total points than Alcaraz through the first two sets, and he finished with more winners — 44 to 38 — and 19 total aces to 13.

When Alcaraz double-faulted, then missed a forehand, to drop the second, they were even at a set apiece.

But with five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg and celebrities like Anna Wintour and Leonardo DiCaprio looking on, Alcaraz quickly recovered from that lapse, marking some of his best shots with a shout of “Vamos!” or a raised index finger. He never faced a break point the rest of the way, while stealing two of Fritz’s service games in the third set.

“A lot of the things that I would have changed, I think would have only helped me for a point or two, and then I think Carlos would have just made an adjustment,” Fritz said, “and I don’t think it would have been a long-term answer.”

Even when Fritz did get an opportunity to get back into things, Alcaraz was ready. In the fourth set’s first game, Alcaraz provided Fritz a bit of an opening by missing two forehands for love-30. But Alcaraz shut that door just as quickly with four points in a row, including a 134 mph ace and 135 mph service winner.

Amid the tension of the tiebreaker, Fritz took time to delicately lift a butterfly off the grass and out of harm’s way. Soon, he had grabbed five straight points to reach the precipice of going to a fifth set. But Alcaraz never let Fritz get any closer, forcing four errors.

The temperature topped 85 degrees Fahrenheit, with no clouds to offer protection from the sun. For the second consecutive day, spectators had trouble in the heat; there were two brief delays in one second-set game while fans needed to be helped.

The pop of a champagne cork could be heard in the stands just before the start, and Alcaraz burst out of the gate, taking 10 of the initial 12 points, including a break for a 1-0 lead. That game featured glimpses of why Alcaraz is so great already. Indeed, the very first point was illustrative: He returned a 135 mph serve, then capped a 10-stroke exchange with a delicate drop shot.

There would soon be a forehand winner, then a good return that drew a netted response by Fritz. A return of a 128 mph serve that found chalk led to a net-cord winner for the break.

More was to come in a terrific set for Alcaraz. He even managed to out-serve Fritz, delivering six aces and 20 of his 24 service points while reaching 137 mph. Alcaraz won the point on all three of his serve-and-volley tries, including one perfect stop volley. By the end, Alcaraz was 31-for-41 when at the net.

“I feel like that’s the best I’ve seen him serve,” Fritz said.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Cam Norrie to Reach Semifinals at Wimbledon

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Carlos Alcaraz is two wins away from a three-peat…

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star and two-time defending Wimbledon champion has reached the semifinals at the All England Club after beating unseeded Cam Norrie, the last British player in either singles bracket, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.

Carlos AlcarazAlcaraz extended his career-best winning streak to 23 matches — the longest tour-level win streak by any man 22 or younger since Juan Martin del Potro won 23 straight matches in 2008 from Stuttgart to the US Open as a 19-year-old. Alcaraz turned 22 in May.

Second-seeded Alcaraz, making his fifth main draw appearance, improved to 23-2 at Wimbledon; among men to debut in the Open era, only Bjorn Borg has more match wins in his first five appearances at the All England Club.

After Norrie held serve to open the match on Centre Court, Alcaraz took control by rattling off the next five games against the left-hander.

He blazed through the opening set in 28 minutes, many of the Centre Court seats still empty as fans sought refreshment after watching Aryna Sabalenka‘s 2-hour-and-54-minute quarterfinal victory.

Alcaraz never let Norrie into the match — facing only five break points and saving all of them. He compiled 39 winners and 13 aces to go with 26 unforced errors.

“To be able to play another semifinal here at Wimbledon is super special,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview after finishing off his quarterfinal match in 1 hour, 39 minutes.

Alcaraz won 89% of his first-serve points against Norrie, the highest mark in any major match of his young career.

He will face No. 5 American Taylor Fritz for a spot in the final.

Alcaraz will have two days off before facing Fritz on Friday, owing to the All England Club schedule.

When asked how he would use the time, one fan in the crowd suggested he could return to Ibiza, the Balearic island where Alcaraz celebrated after winning his second consecutive French Open last month.

Alcaraz is looking to become the fourth man to win the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year multiple times. He would join Borg (3 times: 1978-80), Rod Laver (1962, 1969) and Rafael Nadal (2008, 2010).

Carlos Alcaraz Extends Match Winning Streak to Personal ATP Tour-Best 20 with Wimbledon Victory Over Oliver Tarvet

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It’s a personal best winning streak for Carlos Alcaraz.

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star defeated 733rd-ranked Oliver Tarvet 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 in the second-round of Wimbledon to extend his match winning streak to 20, the longest of his ATP Tour-level career that includes defending his title at the French Open.

Carlos AlcarazWhile he had to face several break points along the way — saving all but two — it was a considerably smoother win than his 4½-hour, five-set victory over Fabio Fognini in the opening round.

“I just love his game, to be honest,” Alcaraz said. “I knew at the beginning that I had to be really focused and try to play my best tennis.”

Asked about his recent run of success, Alcaraz said the key for him the past two to three months has been finding the “right way to enjoy … doesn’t matter if I’m winning or losing.”

Alcaraz became the third man in tennis history to win 20 or more matches at both Roland Garros and Wimbledon before his 23rd birthday. The others are Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.

He will next face either 25th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime or Jan-Lennard Struff in the third round, as the Spaniard bids for a third straight Wimbledon title.

The match between Auger-Aliassime and Struff was suspended, level after two sets, due to darkness.

Carlos Alcaraz Rallies to Defeat Jannik Sinner for Second Straight French Open Title

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Carlos Alcaraz comes from behind to win French Open title…

The 22-year-old Spanish tennis star rallied from two sets down and saved three match points to beat world No. 1 Jannik Sinner 4-6, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (10-2) to win his second straight French Open title on Sunday.

Carlos AlcarazIn a thrilling final, Alcaraz trailed 5-3, 0-40 on serve in the fourth set but recovered to win his fifth Grand Slam title after 5 hours, 29 minutes, the longest men’s final at Roland Garros in the Open era and the second-longest men’s Grand Slam final ever.

“The match is not finished until he wins the last point,” Alcaraz said in his post-match news conference. “A lot of times people came back from match point down in final of a Grand Slam or even in other matches. I just wanted to be one of those players who saved match point in the Grand Slam final and ended up winning.

“I just believed all the time. I never doubted myself, even in those match points down. I thought, just one point at a time. Just one point and then after one point, try to save that game and keep believing. That’s what I thought.”

Alcaraz is the eighth man in the Open era to successfully defend the Roland Garros title and is the first man to save match points and win a Grand Slam final since Novak Djokovic beat Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2019.

It’s the first time in nine attempts that Alcaraz has come from two sets down to win a match.

He’s now 5-0 in Slam finals and extended his head-to-head advantage over Sinner to 8-4.

An Alcaraz comeback looked unlikely as Sinner, chasing his first French Open title and fourth Grand Slam title overall, took the first two sets and broke early in the third.

Alcaraz, roared on by a crowd inside Court Philippe Chatrier that included actor Dustin Hoffman, film director Spike Lee and a host of sporting heroes, hit back to take the third, but the match again looked over when Sinner had three match points at 0-40 on the Alcaraz serve in the ninth game of the fourth.

However, the Spaniard dug himself out of a hole to take the set on the tiebreak and then, after letting an early lead slip in the fifth, rebounded for victory, taking his tally in deciding-set tiebreaks to 12-2.

“When the situations are against you, you have to fight, keep fighting,” Alcaraz said. “It is a Grand Slam final. It’s no time to be tired. It’s no time to give up. It’s time to keep fighting, try to find your moment, your good place again, and just go for it.

“I think the real champions are made in [those] situations when you deal with that pressure in the best way possible. That’s what the real champions have done in their whole careers. I’m just trying to feel comfortable in the situations with the pressure, and I’m not being afraid of it.”

Alcaraz is exactly the same age — 22 years, 1 month, 3 days old — as his countryman Rafael Nadal was when he won his fifth Grand Slam title. Nadal was among the first people to congratulate Alcaraz on social media, joined by Billie Jean King and the Real Madrid football team.

“Honestly, the coincidence of winning my fifth Grand Slam in the same age as Rafa Nadal, I’m going to say that’s destiny, I guess,” Alcaraz said, smiling. “It is a stat that I’m going to keep for me forever, winning the fifth Grand Slam at the same time as Rafa, my idol, my inspiration. It’s a huge honor honestly. Hopefully it’s not going to stop like this.”

Alcaraz’s coach, Juan Carlos Ferrero, told a news conference that the comeback was even more remarkable than when Alcaraz saved a match point in his quarterfinal win over Sinner at the 2022 US Open, when he won his first major.

“I’m not going to say that I was believing that he was able to recover from that 5-3, love-40,” he said. “But one more time with Carlos, everything is possible, and he did it again. Amazing achieve[ment].”

Sinner looked shell-shocked at the end of the match. “I don’t think I will sleep very well tonight,” he said at the trophy presentation.

“Happy about the tournament still,” he said later at a news conference. “But obviously this one hurts.

“It’s a very high-level match, that’s for sure. Happy to be part of this. But yeah, the final result hurts.

“Today I had chances. I was break up in the third. Was break up in the fourth. Was three match points. Serving for the match. Came back. 6-5, I had chances also in the fifth. So many chances I couldn’t use. Sometimes you have these days. You can’t really do anything now.”

Marcel Granollers & Horacio Zeballos Claim First Grand Slam Title as a Pairing with French Open Men’s Doubles Win

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Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos have claimed their first Grand Slam title as a team…

And 39-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and the 40-year-old Argentine professional tennis player won the French Open doubles final on Saturday for their first major title together at the combined age of 79.

Marcel Granollers & Horacio ZeballosGranollers and Zeballos played in their fourth Grand Slam final as a pairing, but first at the clay-court major. They defeated British pair Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski 6-0, 6-7 (5), 7-5.

Granollers and Zeballos, who were seeded fifth in Paris, were runners-up at the U.S. Open in 2019 and Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023.

Salisbury and Skupski were the first all-British team to reach a Grand Slam men’s doubles final in the Open era (1968) and the first British men’s doubles finalists at Roland Garros since 1936.

Granollers and Zeballos were dominant early, blanking their eighth-seeded opponents in the opening set before being dragged into a dogfight in the next.

Salisbury and Skupski, who won the only previous tour-level encounter between the two teams in the Rome quarterfinals last month, won the second set tiebreak and were close to building a 4-3 lead in the decider before a moment of magic.

Zeballos hit the shot of the match to level at deuce in the next game, chasing down a dipping ball and squeezing it around the post at ground level to draw loud cheers from a small crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Salisbury and Skupski refused to fade away, fighting on before running out of gas in the 12th game.

Granollers and Zeballos broke to love to secure victory and fell to the ground in celebration.

Lamine Yamal Wins Laureus World Sports Award for World Breakthrough Player Award

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Lamine Yamal is officially among this year’s greatest athletes around the world…

The 17-year-old Spanish professional footballer, who plays as a winger for La Liga club Barcelona and the Spain national team, has claimed the world breakthrough player award at the Laureus world sports awards.

Lamine YamalWidely regarded as one of the best young footballers in the world, Yamal has represented Spain internationally at various youth levels.

He made his debut for the senior team in 2023, becoming the youngest player to represent and score for the country at age 16. He was selected for UEFA Euro 2024, playing an important role in helping Spain win their fourth title, while also winning the tournament’s Young Player Award.

Rafael Nadal received the sporting icon award.

The 38-year-old Spanish tennis star, a former World No. 1, retired from the sport after playing for Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in November 2024.

During his stories career, Nadal won 92 ATP Tour-level singles titles, including 22 Grand Slam titles (including a record 14 French Open titles), as well as 36 Masters titles and an Olympic gold medal.

Nadal is one of three men to complete the career Golden Slam in singles.

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade won the world comeback of the year award after winning three medals at the 2024 Paris Games — including gold in the floor exercise — after recovering from anterior cruciate ligament injuries.

Other winners include American surfer Kelly Slater, who received the lifetime achievement award; Simone Biles and Mondo Duplantis, named sportswoman and sportsman of the year.

Real Madrid, the Champions League and La Liga winner last season, was the world team of the year, while the world action sportsperson award went to Tom Pidcock, the British mountain biker who overcame a puncture to become only the second man to win back-to-back Olympic titles in the cyclo-cross discipline.

Yuyan Jiang was the world sportsperson of the year with a disability.

Alejandro Tabilo Upsets Novak Djokovic in Second Round of Monte Carlo Masters

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Alejandro Tabilo has pulled off a major upset…

The 27-year-old Chilean professional tennis player beat former World No. 1 Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-4 in the second round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Alejandro Tabilo,Tabilo had previously handed the 24-time Grand Slam champion a surprising loss at the Italian Open last year.

Back on clay for the first time since winning the Olympic gold in Paris last August, Djokovic said he didn’t have high expectations going into the match.

“I expected myself at least to have put in a decent performance. Not like this, it was horrible,” said Djokovic, who made 29 unforced errors. “I did not have high expectations. I knew I’m going to have a tough opponent, and I knew I’m going to probably play pretty bad. But this bad, I didn’t expect.

“I was hoping it was not going to happen, but it was quite a high probability I’m going to play this way. … A horrible feeling to play this way. Just sorry for all the people that have to witness this.”

Tabilo clinched victory on his second match point when Djokovic hit a service return too long. Djokovic had saved one match point in the ninth game when he was trailing 5-3 and 30-40 on his serve, producing a neat drop shot over the net, which his Chilean opponent couldn’t reach.

Tabilo has yet to drop a set against Djokovic. He joined Marat Safin and Jiri Vesely as the only players to have faced Djokovic more than once and not lost; all three hold a 2-0 record over Djokovic.

“It has been a tough year, so a little bit of the nerves were there,” Tabilo said in an on-court interview. “I remembered last time what I did well, and thankfully I served well today and it helped me a lot. It was an unreal match.”

A Monte Carlo title would have made Djokovic the only player to win each Masters event at least three times.

Djokovic, who recently lost the Miami Open final to Jakub Mensik, turns 38 next month — shortly before the French Open starts on May 25.

The Monte Carlo Masters is the first big clay-court tournament of the year on the ATP Tour.

Carlos Alcaraz Defeats Jack Draper at Australian Open to Set Up Quarterfinal Clash Against Novak Djokovic

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Carlos Alcaraz is set to face former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic for the first time at the Australian Open.

In the eighth installment of the riveting, intergenerational rivalry between the 21-year-old Spanish professional tennis player and his 37-year-old Serbian nemesis, the meeting will not only be the first at Melbourne Park, it will also be the first in the quarterfinals of a tournament,

Carlos AlcarazEach of Alcaraz and Djokovic’s other meetings came in either a semifinal or final.

“Well, this is not the right player to play in a quarterfinal, I guess,” a grinning Alcaraz said, looking ahead to Tuesday’s encounter. “But facing Novak, for me, it’s not going to change anything if I’m playing him [in a] quarterfinal or semifinal. Probably change a little bit if it is a final, obviously. Being in a quarterfinal, I’m going to approach the match the same as I did in the previous matches against him, and let’s see.”

Alcaraz reached his 10th career Grand Slam quarterfinal, tied for the most by a man before his 22nd birthday, by advancing when 15th-seeded Jack Draper stopped playing because of a hip injury after dropping the first two sets Sunday afternoon.

Djokovic, who is being coached in Melbourne by old rival Andy Murray, did his part at night in Rod Laver Arena, needing to work a little longer but getting through just the same with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (4) victory over No. 24 Jiri Lehecka.

There is plenty at stake at this tournament for both No. 3 seed Alcaraz and No. 7 seed Djokovic.

Alcaraz seeks to become the youngest man to complete a career Grand Slam with at least one trophy from all four of the most prestigious events in tennis. His four so far came elsewhere: two at Wimbledon by virtue of wins over Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals, and one apiece at the US Open in 2022 and the French Open last year.

Djokovic, meanwhile, is trying to claim an 11th title in Melbourne to become the first player in tennis history with 25 major singles championships. He leads the overall head-to-head against Alcaraz 4-3, including a victory in the final at the Paris Olympics last August to claim a gold medal for Serbia.

At the majors, though, Alcaraz leads 2-1.

“If I think about everything he has done in tennis, I couldn’t play. I mean, 24 Grand Slams, the most weeks at No. 1 — everything. He almost broke every record in tennis. I’m trying not to think about that when I’m in the match. I’m just trying … to beat him,” Alcaraz said. “I know my weapons. I know that [if] I’m able to play good tennis against him, I’m able to beat him.”

Netflix to Serve Up Rafael Nadal Docuseries

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Rafael Nadal’s career is getting the documentary treatment. 

Netflix is planning to serve up a docuseries about the 38-year-old Spanish former professional tennis player.

Rafael NadalA month after revealing his retirement from the sport, Nadal has signed up for a series with the streamer, produced by Skydance Sports.

The untitled series joins Break Point, which ran for two seasons on Netflix before it was canceled, as well as its upcoming Carlos Alcaraz: My Way series.

It comes nine months after Nadal and Alcaraz went head-to-head for The Netflix Slam, a live event exhibition match.

The series will spotlight Nadal’s career as well as his life off-the-court, showcasing never-before-seen material from Nadal’s personal archive and featuring full access with the star, his family and his close circle of coaches and advisors including during his comeback to competitive play in the 2024 season after sitting out much of 2023 due to injury.

Nadal won 22 Grand Slam men’s singles titles, including a record 14 French Open singles titles and is only one of three men (alongside Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic) to win a Career Grand Slam – all four majors and an Olympic gold medal.

He also won all of the sport’s major events, including four U.S. Open titles, two Wimbledon championships, two Olympic gold medals, and two Australian Open crowns.

The docuseries will be directed by Zach Heinzerling.

Rafael Nadal said, “I never thought I’d do something like this, but I got a call from David Ellison and with his words together with an amazing project they put in front of my eyes it really convinced me this was the right thing to do. Everyone will be able to see how my life has been during my tennis career and particularly in this vey last year I had. It will also show how my life and my tennis career developed through the years. I am sure the final product, the docuseries, will be amazing and that it will be seen around the world. My thanks to David Ellison and his team at Skydance for creating and believing on this project. To my family and my team for allowing being filmed this past year, I know it was not easy for all of us. To my colleagues and peers who have given time to put themselves in front of a camera for some time. And thanks to the tournaments around the world that facilitated the work, it wasn’t easy.”

“Rafael Nadal stands as one of the most influential and greatest figures in the history of sports. We are excited to present his remarkable story to our members, offering an intimate glimpse into his journey to cement his legacy to become the legend he is today,” added Diego Ávalos, Netflix’s VP of Content for Spain, Portugal, and the Nordics. “Partnering with our friends at Skydance to celebrate Nadal’s unequivocal career is a true honor.”

“Rafael Nadal is truly one of the greatest players and inspirations in the history of tennis,” said David Ellison, Founder and CEO, Skydance.  “Beyond that, he is a friend and working with Rafa, Zach, and Netflix to tell his story is both an honor and a privilege.”