BEIJING/WASHINGTON, October 4, 2023 (by Michael Dickens)
It took Jannik Sinner seven tries to finally defeat his longtime nemesis Daniil Medvedev. However, his 7-6 (2), 7-6 (2) victory over the third-ranked Russian, which rewarded him with the ATP 500 China Open crown in Beijing Wednesday evening, was well worth the wait.
Lifting the TROPHY🏆@janniksin #2023ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/CchhfA1hBt
— China Open (@ChinaOpen) October 4, 2023
The 22-year-old Italian from South Tyrol wrapped up his third title of the season – and ninth of his career in 12 finals – in his fifth championship match of the season. Over the course of two hours and a minute on the Diamond Court at National Tennis Centre, Sinner struck with power – hitting 28 winners – and won plenty of points with finesse, too.
Sinner won 71 percent (17 of 24) of his second-serve points as well as 19 of 29 net approaches and saved the only break point he faced from Medvedev, which came during the fifth game of the first set. Sinner played fearlessly throughout, hitting clean groundstrokes while maintaining a calm demeanor.
🏆 CHAMPION IN BEIJING 🏆
The moment @janniksin claimed his 9th career title, and defeated Medvedev for the first time!#ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/dCWQnTRknf
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) October 4, 2023
By the end, Sinner had outpointed Medvedev 83-70, and it was the Italian hero raising his arms in celebration after striking a forehand passing shot winner. Sinner’s triumph over Medvedev in their third title showdown of the season (following Rotterdam and Miami) came a day after he took out World No. 2 and top seed Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinal round to advance, making him just the third player to win a tour-level title this season by earning wins against the top two seeds. Medvedev was attempting to garner his sixth title of the season and 21st career crown at as many events. But it wasn’t meant to be for the 27-year-old Moscow native.
“Daniil, thanks for letting me win at least one match,” Sinner said, smiling at Medvedev, during the trophy ceremony. “We have had some very tough battles, especially this year. Thanks for making me a much better player. I have been training a lot to beat you. My team are working a lot. Thank you very much and it is special to share this moment with you.”
Salute to both🫡 @janniksin @DaniilMedwed Brilliant performances from two top players. #2023ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/3vDJLs0TuP
— China Open (@ChinaOpen) October 4, 2023
Medvedev, who leads the ATP Tour in hard-court wins with 42, remained upbeat in accepting his runner up prize. He said during the trophy ceremony: “I’d like to congratulate Jannik and his team. Third time lucky. Third final this year between us. You managed to win it. Great match. You’re an amazing player, having an amazing season. Hopefully, we can have many more finals in tournaments like this and try to fight for more.”
Sinner capped a rewarding week in Beijing by winning his 49th tour-level match of the season as well as his third 2023 title to go along with trophies won earlier in Montpellier and Toronto. He will move on to the ATP Masters 1000 event at Shanghai secure in having achieved a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the ATP Live Rankings and he is in fourth place in the ATP Live Race To Turin. He’s just the second Italian to crack the Top 5 plateau, alongside Adriano Panetta, who reached a career-high No. 4 in August 1976.
Sinner = Winner 🏆 #2023ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/2RvhtD6Z98
— China Open (@ChinaOpen) October 4, 2023
Top seeds Dodig and Krajicek win fifth doubles title of year
The top-seeded Croatian-American team of Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek clinched their fifth ATP Tour doubles title of the 2023 season at the China Open Wednesday. Dodig’s service ace on match point capped a 6-7 (12), 6-3, 10-5 victory over No. 2 seeds Wesley Koolhof of the Netherlands and Neal Skupski of Great Britain.
The two-hour and eight-minute win ensured that Dodig and Kracijek would remain first in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings, 360 points ahead of Koolhof and Skupski. They won despite failing to convert five set points in the opening set, which they lost in an epic 26-point tiebreaker.
2023 China Open Men’s doubles champion🏆 Dodig/Krajicek!!! After a three-set final, they win in Beijing. Brilliant job, guys. #2023ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/Uyn6hJkONM
— China Open (@ChinaOpen) October 4, 2023
“It was a great match tonight,” Kracijek said. “A really high level from both teams. I think we did a good job in the second set of staying in the match and keeping our level and I think we played great. We haven’t been back to China in four years, so to come back and win is super special.”
Added Dodig: “It was great to be back here. We had a great time from the first round. Played great matches and the crowd was amazing.”
Wednesday’s title was the pair’s eighth as a team and fourth on hard courts. This season has been particularly rewarding for Dodig and Krajicek as the China crown adds to their previous trophies won at Roland Garros, Monte-Carlo, Rotterdam and The Queen’s Club. It’s also Dodig’s second China Open title after winning in 2019 with Filip Polasek of Slovakia.
Trophy time🏆#2023ChinaOpen pic.twitter.com/tbU3Vd91Lr
— China Open (@ChinaOpen) October 4, 2023
By the numbers
The China Open was the 12th tournament this season with an all-Top 10 final and fifth including Daniil Medvedev.
“Quotable …”
“Against players like Jannik, if you don’t take advantage of those opportunities, it’s harder to win or stay ahead on the scoreboard. Obviously, he also played a great level of tennis. It forced me to change my game a little bit. I couldn’t do what I always did. I tried to play deeper, but I couldn’t. I tried to play with another tactic, but it didn’t go well in that part either. This is another thing I’ll have to learn if I want to beat Jannik.”
— Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, during his post-match news conference Tuesday after losing his semifinal match to Jannik Sinner.
