Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first China Open title here on Wednesday after defeating top seed Jannik Sinner in a thrilling three-hour-and-21-minute match while Paris Olympics winner Zheng Qinwen stormed into the quarterfinals of the women’s singles, maintaining the hopes of the country’s tennis fans. The 21-year-old Alcaraz recovered from one set down to secure his 16th ATP tour singles crown with a score of 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3). In the dramatic final-set tiebreak, Alcaraz staged an impressive comeback, winning seven consecutive points when trailing 3-0 to shatter the Italian’s hopes of defending his title, reports Xinhua.
Advertisement This victory not only ended Sinner’s unbeaten streak in Beijing but also made Alcaraz the second Spaniard, after Rafael Nadal, to claim the China Open men’s singles championship. Alcaraz praised the thriller, saying he believes the match with Sinna will bring more attention to the sport. “I think for the people who don’t watch tennis, probably thanks to these kinds of matches, they will start to watch tennis or even practice it,” he said.
The four-time Grand Slam winner also expressed gratitude to his team, admitting, “After the American swing, I was a little bit down. I didn’t want to touch a racquet for a while.” “After that, we talked a lot during those days, knowing that I have to be back practicing, be stronger physically, be stronger mentally just to overcome problems,” he added, “The last month, we’ve been .
