Cincinnati 2025: A sad Ending to a Great Tournament
I napped through the entire men's final at the Cincinnati Open. After a long morning of packing up the rental SUV before moving my younger sister into college, I set a 30 minute timer, hoping to sneak a quick nap before Sinner and Alcaraz’s third match of the summer. To my surprise, when the Mumford and Sons alarm jolted me awake the match was already over with Alcaraz crowned the champion by a score of 5-0 (retirement).
The Final That Wasn’t
Despite sleeping through it I was genuinely excited for the matchup. Alcaraz and Sinner make up the rivalry of this generation, every matchup is a must watch. But coming into the match, neither of them looked entirely convincing as they worked their way through the draw. Sinner struggled physically against the ageless Adrian Mannarino, and Alcaraz had dropped a set to Damir Dzumhur and got taken deep into a 3rd set by Rublev in the quarters. With the brutal heat in Cincinnati and the US Open less than a week away I was curious how this final would play out. Instead, Sinner was sick, I was tired, and I didn’t see a ball.
The Week of Terence Atmane
The real atory of the week wasn’t the final, it was Terence Atmane. The 136th ranked player in the world made a surprise semi-final run beating Cobolli, Fonseca, Fritz, and Rune before falling to Sinner. Now ranked #69 in the world Atmane still has to play US Open qualifying tomorrow because… well, tennis. No matter how the Frenchman performs in Queens this week he will be able to get direct entry into slams for the next year, along with many other tour events as well.
What makes him fun:
Huge forehand
Quick lefty serve that puts opponents on their heels
An all out aggressive mindset.
Also, he has an IQ of 158 and has one of the largest Pokemon collections in all of France. What a quirky guy. Hopeful this time next year, when these semi-finals points come off the books, he has made himself into an ATP regular. Because he is simply fun to watch.
Disappointments of the Week: Tsitsipas & Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime: Reaching the semis looks good on paper, but the 6-0, 6-2 beating from Sinner was brutal. Twice Sinner rattled off six straight games. Three years ago Felix had a 50-win season and was No. 6 in the world. Now, at just 25, he looks miles away from that level.
Stefanos Tsitsipas: Only one win before bowing out to Benjamin Bonzi. Confidence is gone, the game looks lost, and he’s entered Winston-Salem as a late wildcard the week before the US Open. I get the logic, he needs reps and confidence, but it’s a stark reminder of how far he’s drifted from his peak.
On the Ground at Winston-Salem
Luckily for all my many readers I will be able to cover the Stefanos Tsitsipas search for confidence in person! The Winston-Salem Open is held on campus at Wake Forest University this week where I am helping my sister move in.
Other notable players in the event are Tallon Grieskpoor, who is searching for form himself, defending champion Lorenzo Sonego, and a couple of intriguing young Americans; 17 year old Darwin Blanch who picked up his first career tour win in R1, and Stefan Dostanic, a top player for the NCAA champion Wake Forest squad who has a wild card into next week’s US Open as well.
Next Week: The US Open
The tournament kicked off with qualifying today, and its new Mixed doubles tournament starts tomorrow. Most of the game's top players, including the notably sick Jannik Sinner are slated to play both the first two rounds tomorrow in Flushing, alongside Day 2 of qualifying.
Because of course, tennis never stops.
