Jannik Sinner retired with an apparent illness 23 minutes into the first set of the Cincinnati Open final against Carlos Alcaraz, ending a highly anticipated matchup between two of the world’s best men’s tennis players quicker than anyone could have imagined.
Sinner did not look like himself and fell into an early 5-0 deficit in the first set before he threw in the towel and gave Alcaraz his 22nd ATP title.
Addressing the crowd after the match, Sinner said that he hadn’t felt great the day before and that he was “super, super sorry” to disappoint the fans who had shown up to see him square off against Alcaraz.
“I thought I would improve during the night. It came up worse,” Sinner said. “I tried to come out and make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more. I’m very, very sorry for all of you. I know some of you on Monday maybe had to work or do something else, so I’m very, very sorry.”
Sinner had called for a trainer after Alcaraz took the 5-0 lead.
Shortly after, the chair umpire announced that Sinner was retiring from the match.
Alcaraz also signed one of the broadcast cameras, “Sorry Jannik.”
“This is not the way that I want to win trophies, I just have to say sorry, I can understand how you must feel now,” Alcaraz said following the match toward his opponent. “As I said many times, you are a true champion and I am sure from these situations, you are going to come back even stronger, as you always do. That’s what true champions do. I’m sorry and come back stronger.”
All of this occurred less than a week before the U.S. Open is set to begin, and the event’s mixed doubles tournament is slated to start on Tuesday, which Sinner is supposed to participate in.
His illness would seem to suggest that his participation in the mixed doubles tournament is in peril.