Why Jannik Sinner’s victory over Alexander Zverev is both positive and negative for Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz.
Jannik Sinner’s win over Alexander Zverev in the Cincinnati Open semi-final has significantly influenced the seedings for the US Open and the world No. 1 ranking.
The Italian secured a 7-6 (11-9), 5-7, 7-6 (7-4) victory over Zverev, preventing the German from overtaking Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Rankings before the US Open.
Sinner, Djokovic, Alcaraz, and Zverev were the top four in the rankings before the Cincinnati Open, and Sinner was guaranteed to stay at No. 1 after Djokovic chose to skip both the Canadian and Cincinnati Masters 1000 events.
Alcaraz had a chance to surpass Djokovic for the No. 2 ranking with a strong performance in Cincinnati, but he was eliminated in the second round by Gael Monfils. Zverev also had an opportunity to overtake both Djokovic and Alcaraz to claim the No. 2 spot, but he needed to win the entire ATP Masters 1000 event.
With Sinner winning their semi-final match, the top 10 seedings for the US Open have been finalized. The Italian is followed by Djokovic, Alcaraz, Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Hubert Hurkacz, Casper Ruud, Grigor Dimitrov, and Alex de Minaur.
As a result, Sinner and Djokovic can only meet in the final, while Alcaraz and Zverev will likely have to face both to win the US Open.
