Monday at the Cincinnati Open was supposed to be the third summer final between young tennis kings Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
Instead, the match ended after less than a set when Sinner retired. Nursing an illness under the beating Midwest sun, the Italian was off target from the start. After going down five games to none, he called off the match.
Ever the good sport and goofy entertainer, Alcaraz gave a classy nod to his rival as the match wrapped. The Spaniard wandered over to the Tennis Channel cameras and scrawled a quick message in bright pink pen:
“Sorry Jannik” — with a frowning face for good measure.
Sorry to see it end like this 😢❤️🩹
Congrats to Carlos and Jannik on incredible runs in Cincinnati 👏#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/pzofwKzl4L
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) August 18, 2025
Suddenly facing victory after splitting epic clashes at Roland-Garros and Wimbledon earlier this year, Alcaraz spent more of his victory speech giving it up to Sinner than milking his win.
“As I’ve said many, many times, you are truly, truly a champion,” Alcaraz said. “You are going to come back better and stronger, you always do.”
Next up, Alcaraz and Sinner were both due to compete in the U.S. Open mixed doubles tournament starting Tuesday, before the singles tournament begins Sunday. Sinner’s status in both events is in question as he recovers from the illness that forced him to forfeit the 1000-level tournament in Cincinnati and its $5.1 million prize pool.
As the two establish themselves and their rivalry as the defining story in modern tennis, fans and commentators alike will be praying that Sinner is well enough to compete in Queens starting this weekend.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.