Carlos Alcaraz won the title at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 tournament, with a prize fund of $9.193 million, after his final opponent, Jannik Sinner, retired with the score at 5-0 in favor of the Spaniard. The reason for Sinner’s retirement was exhaustion, likely caused by a virus.

The match featured the two top-ranked players in the world. It began with a quick break for Alcaraz, who went on to win only eight points for the rest of the contest. “I am very sorry to disappoint you. I haven’t felt well since yesterday and thought I would improve overnight, but my condition worsened. I tried to go out and play, but I couldn’t hold on any longer, so I apologize,” Sinner told the fans.

Alcaraz claimed his sixth title of the season in just 23 minutes on the court, while Sinner failed to defend his title from last year. The Spaniard is the third from his country to triumph in Cincinnati after Carlos Moyá in 2002 and Rafael Nadal in 2013. With his 22nd ATP Tour-level trophy and his first in Cincinnati, Alcaraz also made a significant step toward his goal of finishing the year as world number 1.

The defeat also ended Sinner’s 26-match winning streak on hard courts. He will now aim to recover quickly ahead of defending his title at the U.S. Open. | BGNES