Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner might not be playing the Cincinnati Open this year, but they have both already stamped their authority on the Masters tournament.

Alcaraz won the tournament in 2025 and he has reached a further final and quarter final at the event many use to prepare for the final Grand Slam of the year at the US Open.

Sinner, meanwhile, claimed the Cincinnati Open title in 2024 and he followed it up by reaching the final a year later, although he lost the final to Alcaraz.

That 2025 final saw Sinner and Alcaraz earn a record at the Cincinnati Open, as they played the shortest final in the tournament’s illustrious history.

Sinner and Alcaraz could only play 5 games in the first set, which were all won by the Spaniard, before the Italian was forced to retire from the final with illness.

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The Italian apologised to the crowd after the match for cutting the final short, which was the fourth time they had met in a final during the 2025 season at that point.

“I’m super, super sorry to disappoint you,” Sinner said to the fans during the championship ceremony.

“From yesterday I didn’t feel great. I thought that I would improve during the night, but it came up worse. I tried to come out, tried to make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more, so I’m very sorry.”

Alcaraz, meanwhile, was typically magnanimous about the victory and sent a message to his great rival.

“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 to Sinner as he held the Cincinnati Open title.

“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.”

Sinner and Alcaraz have played 17 times on the ATP Tour, with the Spaniard leading their head-to-head with 10 victories.

However, Sinner has managed to win three of their last five meetings, so he has proved in recent meetings that he is starting to work out how to beat the Spaniard.

Both men are currently still lined up to play the US Open at the end of August, but they both have injury problems heading into the Grand Slam.

Alcaraz is still working his way back from his wrist injury, while Sinner has been dealing with a knee injury since his Wimbledon triumph in July.