Jannik Sinner celebrated his 24th birthday in style by defeating Terence Atmane 7-6(4), 6-2 to reach the Cincinnati Open final. The top-seeded Sinner ended the dream run of the French qualifier, who was competing in his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final. Sinner, the defending champion, showcased a rock-solid performance that extended his winning streak on hard courts to 26 matches.
The Italian trails Carlos Alcaraz by 1,290 points in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. Sinner's victory marked his 200th tour-level win on hard courts. The crowd serenaded Sinner with "Happy Birthday" after the match.
Atmane, ranked No. 136 in the world, had a remarkable run in Cincinnati, including consecutive Top-10 wins against Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune. In the opening stages of the match, Atmane challenged Sinner with his strong serving, including three consecutive aces in the seventh game. However, a double fault in the tie-break proved costly for the Frenchman.
Sinner won a remarkable 91% of his first-serve points and did not face a single break point during the 86-minute match. He converted two of five break points in his first career meeting with Atmane. Sinner expressed that playing against a completely new opponent was a tough challenge, requiring him to be very careful. He felt he handled the situations well and maintained a good mindset throughout the match.
In the quarter-finals, Sinner displayed his dominance by defeating Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-0, 6-2. Sinner extended his winning run on hard courts to 25 matches with this victory. Auger-Aliassime had won both of their previous matches, but Sinner proved too strong. Sinner felt he was returning the ball very well, which gave him the confidence to serve well. He acknowledged a small drop in the second set when Auger-Aliassime broke him but was happy to break back quickly.
Sinner has become only the fifth man this century to record 25 consecutive victories on the surface, joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, and Andy Murray. Sinner had not been defeated on hard courts since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing in early October of the previous year.
Terence Atmane became the first qualifier to reach the semi-finals in Cincinnati since Alexandr Dolgopolov in 2015.
Sinner awaits the winner of Carlos Alcaraz and Alexander Zverev in the final.
