Carlos Alcaraz gets Jannik Sinner as China Open final opponent after wishing for Bu Yunchaokete; duo meet as Slam winners in final for the first time
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will meet in the final of the 2024 China Open, a rather unfortunate development for the Spaniard after he had wished to meet Bu Yunchaokete in the summit clash instead. Regardless, Alcaraz has no regrets about facing the World No. 1 either, seeing as it gives him a chance to test his mettle against the 'best player in the world' at the moment.
Alcaraz faced Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals in Beijing on Tuesday (October 1), and sailed through with a simple 7-5, 6-3 win over the Russian. The World No. 3 is yet to lose a set at the tournament, having beaten the likes of Karen Khachanov and Tallon Griekspoor along the way.
On the other hand, Sinner scored a 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Bu in the second semifinal. The two-time Grand Slam champion has been nowhere near as dominant as Alcaraz, and has lost two sets in the tournament already (against Nicolas Jarry and Roman Safiullin in the first two rounds).
Speaking at his press conference after the win over Medvedev, Alcaraz was asked whom he would prefer to face in the final. The 21-year-old jokingly picked the Chinese sensation over the World No. 1, saying that he was not going to lie and proclaim that he wanted to face off against the tougher opponent.
Alcaraz quickly added that he wouldn't be too worried if it turned out to be Jannik Sinner either, stating that he relished the chance to take on the biggest opponents in the world on the big stage at the end of the day.
"Obviously Bu (smiling). I'm not going to lie. Jannik is the best player in the world right now. I mean, Bu is playing a great tennis during the whole week, beating really top players. If I have to choose or I could say who is the best for me to play a final, if I want to win it, Bu," Alcaraz said.
"As I always said, I really like the battles, the toughest match facing the best players in the world. So if I play against Jannik in the final, I will be happy, as well," he added.
Interestingly, this is only the second time Alcaraz and Sinner are meeting in the final of a tournament. They previously did so at the 2022 Croatia Open Umag, back when neither had a Grand Slam title to their name. This time, they will have six Major titles to their name combined, with Sinner being the reigning Australian Open and US Open champion and Alcaraz being the reigning French Open and Wimbledon champion.
Despite the loss to Sinner, meanwhile, Bu Yunchaokete has had a China Open run to savor, having defeated the likes of Andrey Rublev and Lorenzo Musetti on the way to the last four.
Carlos Alcaraz leads the head-to-head against Jannik Sinner coming into China Open final
Coming into the final of the 2024 China Open, Carlos Alcaraz holds a slender 5-4 lead in the head-to-head against Jannik Sinner. They have met twice this year, with both meetings going the way of the Spaniard.
Last year at the China Open, Alcaraz and Sinner met in the semifinals, where the Italian prevailed before beating Daniil Medvedev in the final to win the title at the ATP 500 event. After the end of their stint in Beijing, the duo will both play at the Shanghai Masters, where they will be joined by Novak Djokovic for the first time since the US Open.