Jannik Sinner produced a determined display to capture his third title of the year and ninth overall with a 7-6(2), 7-6(2) victory over second seed Daniil Medvedev in the final of the China Open on Wednesday.
Sinner came into the clash having lost to Medvedev in their previous six meetings, including two earlier this season in the finals of Rotterdam and Miami, but the Italian kept pace with his opponent and sealed an opening first set via a tie-break.
Both players struck brutal blows from the baseline and raced through their service games in the next set, before the 22-year-old Sinner raised his level again in the tie-break to complete a memorable win in Beijing.
Sinner will become the second Italian in the history of ATP rankings (since 1973) to break into the top five when the latest list is released and will match Adriano Panatta’s ranking of four, which was achieved in August 1976.
Iga in last-8
Earlier, Iga Swiatek powered past fellow Pole Magda Linette 6-1, 6-1 to reach the quarter-finals of the women’s event.
“I felt like I was playing a good game and I was in control from the beginning to the end. I’m happy that I was consistent. I didn’t have ups and downs in the match so it doesn’t matter who I’m playing,” Swiatek said.
“If I play like that, I feel really confident.”
Former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko stunned fourth seed Jessica Pegula 6-4, 6-2 to book a quarter-final clash with Liudmila Samsonova, who beat Marta Kostyuk 6-4, 6-7(4), 7-5.
“I think I always play quite well in China,” said Ostapenko, a 2017 semi-finalist in Beijing.
“Finally, tournaments are back here and with a lot of fans, which I like a lot.”
Elena Rybakina battled from a set and 4-2 down to claim 10 out of the last 11 games against Russian 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva to prevail 2-6, 6-4, 6-1.
