Carlos Alcaraz’s victory over Jannik Sinner was an underwhelming affair.
Of course, this is nobody’s fault. The last thing Jannik Sinner would have wanted was to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open final due to illness.
Alcaraz, who expressed his sympathy for Sinner after their match, is quickly establishing himself as one of the greats of the sport. At 22 years old, he has won five Grand Slam singles titles and eight Masters 1000 titles.
For comparison, his compatriot Rafael Nadal had won six Grand Slam titles by the age of 23. Alcaraz has two more opportunities to match Nadal’s amount, as he does not turn 23 until May 5, 2026.
By defeating Sinner in Cincinnati, Alcaraz also joined Nadal on an exclusive list of tennis greats.
Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty ImagesCarlos Alcaraz joins Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer on an exclusive list
The ATP Masters 1000 event was first introduced in 1990, established with the launch of the ATP Tour.
Since then, the tournaments have represented the highest form of tennis excellence outside of Grand Slam events, with greats such as Novak Djokovic and Andre Agassi winning a plethora of these titles.
Now with eight of these titles to his name, Alcaraz is creeping into the same territory, and his victory over Sinner placed him in the same rarefied air as Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.
As per OptaAce, Since 1990, Carlos Alcaraz is just the fifth player to win 3+ ATP Masters 1000 titles in a season before turning 23 after Pete Sampras, Marcelo Rios, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz achieved the feat aged 22 years and 94 days. Sampras, Rios, and Federer accomplished the same total in 1994, 1998 and 2004 respectively.
Rafael Nadal is in his own class: the Spaniard won three or more ATP Masters 1000 titles in a season before turning 23 in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Carlos Alcaraz moves clear of Jannik Sinner in ATP Finals race
The ATP Finals tournament, held in November in Turin, Italy, will welcome the eight players who have earned the most ATP ranking points in 2025.
Carlos Alcaraz, who was already leading the chasing pack before Cincinnati, has further extended his lead over Jannik Sinner in the ATP Finals race.
Alcaraz earned 350 more ATP ranking points than Jannik Sinner by defeating the Italian in the Cincinnati Open final.
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
The Spaniard now sits on a total of 8540 points for the year, while Sinner trails by almost 2000 points, on 6650.