Cincinnati
Sinner denies Atmane for 200th hard-court win and spot in Cincinnati final

World No. 1 and defending champ awaits Alcaraz or Zverev in Monday’s final

August 17, 2025

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Jannik Sinner is on a 26-match winning streak on hard courts.
By Jerome Coombe

Jannik Sinner ended the dream run of World No. 136 Terence Atmane on Saturday at the Cincinnati Open, but not before navigating a tricky first-set test from the French lefty.

Celebrating his 24th birthday in style, defending champion Sinner delivered a rock-solid display to triumph 7-6(4), 6-2 and reach his eighth ATP Masters 1000 final. With his 86-minute victory, during which he did not face a break point, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings recorded his 200th tour-level win on hard courts and extended his win streak on the surface to 26 matches.

Into his 28th tour-level final, Sinner awaits fierce rival Carlos Alcaraz or World No. 3 Alexander Zverev. The Italian trails first-placed Alcaraz in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, with both players battling it out in a thrilling contest for Year-End ATP No. 1 presented by PIF honours. Sinner will aim to defend his Cincinnati title and close the more than 1,000 point lead that Alcaraz owns in the Race.

Now a two-time Cincinnati finalist and a fan favourite in Ohio, Sinner was serenaded with ‘Happy Birthday’ by the adoring crowd after the match.

“It was a very, very tough challenge,” said Sinner. “Every time you play against something completely new, it’s difficult, but playing against this guy in the later stages of a tournament is even more difficult. The pressure is higher and you know they deserve to be there… He has beaten incredible players throughout his wins.

“I knew that I had to be very careful, and my mindset was in a good spot. I felt like I handled the situations on the court very well. He was serving incredibly well in the first set. He has huge, huge potential, and I think we saw that in the tournament.”

After coming through qualifying and earning consecutive Top-10 wins against Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune en route to his first ATP Tour semi-final, Atmane imposed himself on the occasion with a supreme serving display in the opening stages, including dropping three consecutive aces on Sinner in the seventh game.

Yet the Frenchman undid his hard work by hitting his first double fault of the match to open the tie-break, which proved to be the difference-maker in an evenly contested first set.

It All Adds Up

While Sinner’s own serving performance in the opener was admirable — he dropped just one of 21 points behind his first delivery, according to Infosys ATP Stats — there were concerning signs at the start of the second. Yet after a lengthy opening hold, which featured four Deuces, Sinner quickly brushed aside any doubts and began to make significant ground in Atmane’s service games.

Moments before the players walked out onto Centre Court for their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting, Atmane lightened the mood by surprising Sinner with a gift in the tunnel. The Frenchman, a fond fan of the Japanese trading card game Pokemon, gave the World No. 1 a card from his collection before they embraced and headed into battle.

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Despite defeat, Atmane can reflect on a milestone week in Cincinnati, where he has surged 67 spots to a new career-high No. 69 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. The 23-year-old is next scheduled to compete in the qualifying event for the US Open, which begins Monday.

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