Jannik Sinner retired with an apparent illness 23 minutes into the first set of the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, ending a highly anticipated matchup between two of the world’s best men’s tennis players quicker than anyone could have imagined.
Sinner did not look like himself and fell into an early 5-0 deficit in the first set before he threw in the towel and gave Alcaraz his 22nd ATP title.
“After the third game, I just noticed that he wasn’t feeling good at all,” Alcaraz said. “I know him. I’ve been battling against him for two years, having great matches, great battles. I know his style, his game. I noticed that he was being more aggressive than he used to be. He was missing more often. I thought that it was pretty weird from him. I noticed that the body language wasn’t the best for him.”
Addressing the crowd after the match, Sinner said he hadn’t felt great the day before and he was “super, super sorry” to disappoint the fans who had shown up to see him square off against Alcaraz.
“I thought I would improve during the night. It came up worse,” Sinner said. “I tried to come out and make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more. I’m very, very sorry for all of you. I know some of you on Monday maybe had to work or do something else, so I’m very, very sorry.”
Sinner had called for a trainer after Alcaraz took the 5-0 lead.
Shortly after, the chair umpire announced Sinner was retiring from the match.
Alcaraz also signed one of the broadcast cameras, “Sorry Jannik.”
“This is not the way that I want to win trophies. I just have to say sorry, I can understand how you must feel now,” Alcaraz said following the match toward his opponent. “As I said many times, you are a true champion, and I am sure from these situations, you are going to come back even stronger, as you always do. That’s what true champions do. I’m sorry and come back stronger.”
All of this occurred less than a week before the U.S. Open men’s singles tournament is set to begin. The event’s mixed doubles tournament starts Tuesday, in which Sinner is supposed to participate.
His illness would seem to suggest his participation in the mixed doubles tournament is in peril.
