Jannik Sinner gave himself the perfect birthday gift at the Cincinnati Open. The top seed and defending champion turned 24 and beat French qualifier Terence Atmane 7-6(4), 6-2 on Saturday to reach the final of the U.S. Open warm-up event.
In the other semi-final, Carlos Alcaraz beat German third seed Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-3. The win set up another meeting between Alcaraz and Sinner, who already faced each other in the finals of the French Open and Wimbledon this year.
Sinner stayed solid in his first career meeting with world number 136 Atmane. He won 91 percent of his first-serve points, faced no break points, and converted two of his five chances during the 86-minute clash.
“It was a very tough challenge,” Sinner said after the match. The Italian world number one smiled as the crowd sang “Happy Birthday” to him. “When you play someone new, it is always very difficult.”
The first set saw both men serve with authority. Neither player allowed a single break point, and Sinner lost only three points on serve. He forced a tiebreak after holding to love for the third straight game. Atmane double-faulted on the first point of the breaker, and Sinner quickly took control to claim the opener.
The second set began with Sinner holding serve after a nine-minute battle. He followed with another hold to love and broke Atmane for a 3-1 lead. That break gave him the cushion he needed. Sinner held again to love for 4-1, ending any real chance for the Frenchman, who had beaten Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune on his way to his first Masters 1000 semi-final.
Serving to stay in the match, Atmane fell behind 0-40. On his third match point, Sinner sealed the win as Atmane sent a forehand into the net.
The second semi-final between Alcaraz and Zverev featured some drama early on. The match stopped for 11 minutes while paramedics treated a spectator. Both players stood at the net together as the medical team worked.
After play resumed, Alcaraz saved three break points to hold for 2-2. A few games later, the Spaniard produced a sharp backhand volley to break for a 4-3 lead, then served out the first set.
Alcaraz broke to start the second set, but immediately gave the game back with four double-faults. Zverev, however, began to struggle with his movement and sat down against the back wall in pain. Alcaraz took control again and closed out the match in straight sets.