Carlos Alcaraz defeats Jannik Sinner in Beijing final to continue domination of Top 5 players

Carlos Alcaraz has battled past Jannik Sinner, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3), to capture the title in Beijing, his fourth title of the year after previous triumphs at Indian Wells, Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

And his win in the final was special for a few reasons.

First of all, it was his second career win over a No. 1, his first coming against Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of Madrid in 2022.

Secondly, he’s the first player to beat Sinner three times this year—he’s actually 3-0 against him this year after wins at Indian Wells and Roland Garros. No other player has even beaten him twice this year.

And perhaps most impressively, Alcaraz is now an incredible 8-1 against Top 5 players this season, his only loss to one of the elite coming to Djokovic in the gold medal match at the Olympics.

ALCARAZ VS TOP 5 PLAYERS IN 2024 (8-1):
d. No. 3 Sinner in Indian Wells SFs, 1-6, 6-3, 6-2
d. No. 4 Medvedev in Indian Wells F, 7-6 (5), 6-1
d. No. 2 Sinner in Roland Garros SFs, 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
d. No. 4 Zverev in Roland Garros F, 6-3, 2-6, 5-7, 6-1, 6-2
d. No. 5 Medvedev in Wimbledon SFs, 6-7 (1), 6-3, 6-4, 6-4
d. No. 2 Djokovic in Wimbledon F, 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (4)
l. to No. 2 Djokovic in Olympics F, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2)
d. No. 5 Medvedev in Beijing SFs, 7-5, 6-3
d. No. 1 Sinner in Beijing F, 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3)

Wednesday’s final was a grind, and it could have gone either way—the first and third sets could easily have gone either way, in fact.

Alcaraz originally led 5-2 in the first set, and after Sinner got the break back and caught back up, the Spaniard even had three set points, one with Sinner serving at 5-6, 30-40 and another two up 6-4 in the ensuing tie-break—but the Italian snuck out the 70-minute set.

And after trading breaks again in the third set—Alcaraz originally led 4-2, but Sinner got back on serve—the two again headed to a tie-break, where Sinner was actually up a double mini-break at 3-0.

But Alcaraz burned it all down from there, winning the last seven points in a row, ripping one last inside-out forehand on match point to close it out after three hours and 20 minutes on court.

It was a high quality match from both players, Alcaraz finishing with 55 winners to 52 unforced errors and Sinner 30 to 31.

They’ll be the Top 2 players on the new ATP rankings, with the Italian remaining at No. 1 and the Spaniard—a former No. 1—rising from No. 3 back to No. 2, surpassing the current No. 2, Alexander Zverev.