Jannik Sinner became the youngest man since Andy Murray to win the Cincinnati Masters as he dominated Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (4), 6-2 on Monday to win the Cincinnati Open.
The 23-year-old who was fresh off a tight semi-final over Alexander 24 hours earlier dealt out Tiafoe, trying to become the first American to win the home title since Andy Roddick in 2006.
Tiafoe saved two Sinner match points in the closing stages but could not stop the momentum of the world No. 1, who now owns five titles this season and 15 overall including three Masters..
The Italian top seed bided his time in the first set before breaking the match open in the second.
“I’m happy, this was a very difficult week,” the winner said. “It was tough mentally but I tried to do my best.
“Frances and I were both tired from the (Sunday) semi-finals and there was a lot of tension.
“I’m just glad I kept my level in the important moments. I handled the situations on court well.
Sinner, runaway top seeded favourite at the US Open starting on Monday.
“There were many ups and downs, but that’s normal. At the big moments of each match I played well. That is the Main goal of this US Open swing.”
Sinner hit 29 winners, including 13 aces and broke twice. ten of his aces came in the opening set, which set the stage for his domination of the second.
The Italian won a 10-minute game of even deuces,breaking Tiafoe for 4-1 and sealing the fate of the challenger.
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