Jannik Sinner secured his third Masters-1000 title by winning the Cincinnati Open. However, he had to come through a tight first set against Frances Tiafoe before running away with the match in the second set.
The Italian reached the final with an epic 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 semifinal triumph against Alexander Zverev. Sinner also guaranteed he would stay as the world No. 1 until October with the win.
Despite his great victory against Zverev, the Australian Open champion struggled with hip pain in the deciding set. Sinner admitted he needs to improve physically to have a chance of winning the US Open.
Tiafoe's Cincinnati Open semifinal was also memorable. The American looked doomed at 2-5 down in the deciding set against Holger Rune but staged a remarkable recovery to prevail 4-6, 6-1, 7-6, including saving two match points.
The home favorite settled into the match quicker in the opening game. Sinner played loose shots to leave himself 15-40 down and facing two break points. However, the 23-year-old produced powerful serves to get himself out of trouble.
Both men held serve comfortably in the fast conditions in Cincinnati until the set came alive with the score at 4-4. Tiafoe had a third break point of the set, but the world No. 1 held firm once again to hold.
Tiafoe was in big trouble at 5-6 when Sinner held a set point. Surprisingly, last year's ATP Finals runner-up missed a second serve return, allowing the American to secure a tiebreak after winning the following two points.
Sinner put that disappointment behind him with some outstanding shot-making in the tiebreak. He hit two blistering forehands to go 3-1 up, although he got pegged back to 3-4 down after making a few uncharacteristic unforced errors.
The world No. 1 then proved why he occupies that ranking by reeling off four consecutive points to take the tiebreak 7-4 and the set 7-6. This included incredible defensive play during an 18-shot rally at 5-4, soaking up relentless pressure.
That setback clearly knocked the wind out of Tiafoe's sails, who had played an excellent first set despite losing it. He hit some ill-advised drop shots in his opening service game and got broken immediately.
A long game at 1-3 down sealed Tiafoe's fate. The home favorite had four game points but made costly mistakes on them all. Eventually, Sinner took his third break point of the game to go 4-1 up.
To Tiafoe's immense credit, he saved three championship points at 1-5, 0-40, but it only delayed the inevitable. Sinner held serve without dropping a point to seal a 7-6, 6-2 victory and his third Masters-1000 title.
Sinner will be confident entering the US Open after his run in Cincinnati. It was his fifth title of the year and fourth on a hard court, and he reminded fans why he should always be considered one of the favorites at every hard-court Grand Slam.
Although the final did not go as Tiafoe hoped, reaching his first Masters-1000 title was still a great effort. It had been a tough year for the 2022 US Open semifinalist, but his run in Cincinnati could be a catalyst for even greater things.
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