Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have met plenty of times over the last few months, offering the tennis world more than enough opportunities to watch the two best players do battle.
As such, we have seen them clash on clay and grass, but not since the China Open late last year have they taken to a hard court to face one another.
That is all set to change later today, as the Italian will be desperate to defend his Cincinnati Open title against the world number two.
There are so many reasons why Carlos Alcaraz will be incentivised to dethrone his generational rival, not least to gain revenge for having his own crown stolen at Wimbledon.
Regardless, their respective form at this event bodes well for the US Open and the rest of the season.
How Carlos Alcaraz reacted to winning the China Open last year
With this in mind, it’s worth delving back through the archives to when these top two-ranked players faced one another on a hard court in Beijing.
Despite losing the opening set on a tiebreak, the Spaniard summoned an incredible amount of quality and determination to overturn the result and claim the title.
Jannik Sinner was left stunned, forced to surrender in a third-set deciding tiebreak.
Speaking on-court after his remarkable triumph, Alcaraz remained characteristically complimentary of Sinner, stating: “Jannik once again showed he’s the best player in the world, he’s unbelievable and plays such a high level of tennis.
“I had my chances in the first set and didn’t take it. In general, I’m proud of the way I dealt with the match and managed everything.
“I never lose hope, but I know he has great stats. I knew I had to give everything I had to give myself the opportunity.”
More recently, Alcaraz has revealed how he’s feeling about facing Sinner yet again in Cincinnati later today.
Carlos Alcaraz is chasing a huge rankings milestone
Despite being the youngest men’s year-end world number one in Open Era history, it feels like so long since we saw Alcaraz at the top of the world rankings.
After all, once Sinner started to build up steam, he has not relented since, winning regularly and at the highest level to establish an extraordinary lead at the top of the world rankings.
However, as is the case with this system, the Cincinnati Open and the upcoming US Open boast a plethora of points that Sinner can only defend rather than enhance.
Meanwhile, Alcaraz’s dire performances at both tournaments in 2024 now offer him a golden opportunity to reclaim vital ground in the race for world number one.
It would take an almighty collapse from Sinner at the final Grand Slam of the year to see them switch spots in the coming weeks, but before 2025 is up, there’s every chance that the five-time Grand Slam champion could usurp him and reclaim top spot.
