Alcaraz and Sinner set to renew their rivalry at Cincinnati Open final
London
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will clash in Sunday's Cincinnati Open final after the world's top two players won their respective semi-finals on Saturday.
World number one Sinner and second-ranked Alcaraz will meet in a repeat of the French Open and Wimbledon finals earlier this summer.
Sinner celebrated his 24th birthday by halting French wildcard Terence Atmane's surprise run to the last four in a 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 win.
World number 136 Atmane - who had never been inside the top 100 but will now climb to 69 - went toe-to-toe with Sinner in a tight opening set, but the defending champion found an extra gear in the tie-break and cruised to victory in the second.
It was Sinner's 26th successive hard-court win and his 12th in a row on all surfaces.
'It's going to be a very, very difficult match, but hopefully it's going to be, in any case, a good match,' said Sinner after he downed Terence Atmane in the semi-finals. 'Hopefully it's a very high-level match. That's what for us players is important, but also for the people who are watching… We will see what kind of fun is going to [happen] on Monday.'
Alcaraz brushed off Alexander Zverev in straight sets, beating the German 6-4, 6-3.
'I'm excited about it. It's going to be great,' said Alcaraz ahead of facing Sinner in what will be his seventh consecutive tour-level final. 'He won the last one, I won the first two finals, so I think it's going to be really interesting. It's the first final [between us this year] on a hard court, so I'm excited about taking that challenge.
'I know that Jannik, without a doubt, is the best player in the world on hard courts and probably on every surface right now, so it's going to be a great match and I have to be ready for that.'
In the doubles event, British pair Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool lost to Nikola Mektic and Rajeev Ram 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2).
Swiatek in women's final
Iga Swiatek reached the final of the Cincinnati Open for the first time in her career with a 7-5, 6-3 win over Elena Rybakina on Sunday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
Swiatek has now reached the final in three of her last four tournaments played, after not reaching one in more than a year. She will face either No. 7 seed Jasmine Paolini or Veronika Kudermetova in Monday's final.
'Oh my God, for sure that was a tough match,' Swiatek said post-match. 'At the beginning, the level was pretty crazy; sometimes, we couldn't even run to the second ball ... but I was there to play with intensity, good quality, and I'm happy with the performance.'
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