\u539f\u6587\u6458\u8981\uff1a<\/b><\/font><\/p>\nAnd then it was 6-4. In a match that typified the thrilling closeness of their rivalry at the top of men\u2019s , beat 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) to win the China Open in Beijing. The world No. 1 came from 2-5 down in the first set, and 4-6 down in the tiebreak he forced to win the first set. He then led 3-0 in the deciding tiebreak. But Alcaraz won seven points in a row from there, including two that rose to the heights of nonsense, to earn a win that overall, he deserved. Advertisement It means that Alcaraz has won six of the duo\u2019s 10 meetings, including all three this year \u2014 here, and in the semifinals of both Indian Wells and the French Open. \u201cHe could win in two, I could win two, he could win in three, I could win in three,\u201d Alcaraz told Tennis TV on court after the match. Since , Alcaraz has been playing his best tennis of 2024 and was miffed at losing the first set. He had more of an edge. He did what he has done all tournament in Beijing, and at the Davis Cup too: flying to the net to swat away volleys, casting forehands into the corners of the court and blasting passing shots. He brought up 0-15 in all six of Sinner\u2019s service games and earned five break points, including three in the second game of the set, but converted just one. Where Alcaraz could call on his best tennis more freely, Sinner found his when he needed it most. He saved all three of those break points. Then, down 5-6 in the first-set tiebreak, he crunched an Alcaraz first serve into the open court, after which the Spaniard could only scramble. Two cheap points later, a set that Alcaraz should have won was out of his grasp. \u201cMentally, he\u2019s a beast,\u201d Alcaraz said of Sinner on court. The pattern continued in the second set, with Alcaraz creating opportunities only to squander them or have Sinner snatch them away. That meant that when the Spaniard did break in the ninth game of the second set, having saved two break points in the eighth, a moment that would normally feel like a momentum swing instead felt more like a fulfilment of what had gone before. In winning the set 6-4, Alcaraz hit 18 winners to 14 \u2018unforced\u2019 errors, with Sinner at an even 10-10. Alcaraz moved ahead with a break in the third game of the third set, and then had Sinner on the ropes at 15-40, with the chance of a 4-1 lead. Sinner, again, found a way out. And after trading holds, Alcaraz did the thing that he wants to eliminate most from his game. He played his worst tennis, at the worst possible time. Three errors at 4-3 up handed Sinner a break back. Advertisement It was a momentary lapse in a match that otherwise rose to a crescendo. In what is becoming an increasingly familiar sight, Sinner and Alcaraz forced each other to greater heights. They don\u2019t just run down balls that other players can\u2019t reach. They run down balls that they couldn\u2019t reach either, until the other one has forced them to do it.\n\nCarlos Alcaraz was largely the dominant force against Jannik Sinner in Beijing, but the Italian found clutch moments. (Wang Zhao \/ AFP via Getty Images) At 0-3 in the tiebreak, and staring Sinner\u2019s 18-1 record in 19 tiebreaks in the face, it looked as if the Italian\u2019s better grasp of the important points would be the difference. Alcaraz, instead, saved his clutch moments for the most important of them all. \u201cI thought OK, I have to give everything. Give myself the opportunity to be close,\u201d Alcaraz said on court. \u201cIf I lose, at least I went for it.\u201d First he drew Sinner forward and put away a simple volley for 3-1. Then, after Sinner had turned a zapping second-serve return on its head with a lob, Alcaraz did it again, only to find himself stretching to reach a disguised push down the line. Still, he flicked it away for 3-2. Two more routine points later, he dismissed an inside-out forehand for 5-3, and Sinner finally made an error on a big point to put Alcaraz ahead 6-3. This time, after three hours and 20 minutes, he did not let the lead slip. Where this match figures in the overall texture of their rivalry is hard to discern. While Sinner was a set down to world No. 69 Roman Safiullin on Saturday, the world anti-doping agency (WADA) announced that it would appeal the ruling in the doping case against the world No. 1. An independent tribunal convened by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA) found that he bore no fault or negligence for two positive tests for a banned anabolic steroid but WADA is seeking a ban of between one and two years, and for some blame to be attributed to Sinner. Sinner, who won the Cincinnati Open just two days before the ITIA publicized the first ruling, reiterated that he feels secure in believing that he \u201chas done nothing wrong\u201d during press conferences in Beijing, having admitted at the U.S. Open that people close to him could sense a change in his on-court demeanor. He didn\u2019t seem much affected Wednesday, even if Alcaraz played the better tennis, more often, and now leads their ATP Tour head-to-head by two wins. Advertisement Where it figures in the wider context of men\u2019s tennis is in part where it has figured ever since their barnstorming U.S. Open quarterfinal of 2022. Sinner and Alcaraz are each other\u2019s biggest problem. What has changed in those intervening years is that they are now indisputably everybody else\u2019s biggest problem too, including Novak Djokovic. They split the four majors in 2024, and Alcaraz has returned to No. 2 in the world behind Sinner with his run in Beijing, after Alexander Zverev withdrew from the tournament.\n\nJannik Sinner\u2019s position as world No. 1 is firmly entrenched for the rest of 2024. (Fred Lee \/ Getty Images) Sinner went into the final with a 59-5 record for 2024, and a 39-2 record on hard courts; Alcaraz was at 47-9 for the year. But in their mini battle for 2024, he is up 3-0. They are the benchmark for men\u2019s tennis, and though for how long remains subject to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the figure to look at most closely is 6-4, Alcaraz. Ten matches in, it\u2019s only going to get better from here. \u2018It wasn\u2019t the loser you felt for. It was the rest of the field\u2019 Analysis from tennis writer Charlie Eccleshare Watching this match, it wasn\u2019t the loser you felt for \u2014 it was the rest of the men\u2019s field, who must have been wondering how on earth they could get close to these two. Perhaps only an intervention from WADA could do the job. Sinner and Alcaraz have equally split the year\u2019s four Grand Slams, and this thrilling final underscored how far ahead they are of everyone else. Both players will take a huge amount of confidence from this (not that they need it). Sinner did not win but can feel proud to be part of such a rivalry. Losing three times in a row to his great rival will sting, especially as he was only two points from victory here, but there is so little between the two, and Sinner remains on course to be the year-end world No. 1. The way the pair mutually elevate their level, like the \u2018Big Three\u2019 used to do, is great news for them and for the sport \u2014 and terrible news for every other player who has to face them. How Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic reconfigured tennis\n\n(Top photo: Fred Lee \/ Getty Images)<\/pre>\n<\/p>\n
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