ATP Live Rankings: Carlos Alcaraz advanced to his seventh consecutive tour-level final by beating an ailing Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-3 at the Cincinnati Open.
The victory set up a final showdown with Jannik Sinner, a rematch of the Rome, Roland Garros and Wimbledon title matches this season.
"I'm really looking forward to playing against him once again," said the Spaniard, who will meet Sinner for the fourth time this year and 14th time overall. "We raise our level to the top and we bring a really beautiful tennis to the match. I'm ready to take the challenge. I'm ready to see the things that I did wrong in the last match and trying to be better on that side on Monday."
At 22 years and three months, Alcaraz is the third-youngest player to reach nine Masters 1000 finals after Rafael Nadal (20) and Novak Djokovic (21), according to ATP stats.
Through to his ninth ATP Masters 1000 final (7-1) and first on hard courts since he claimed the Indian Wells crown last year, Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 16 matches at that prestigious level on the heels of his title runs in Monte-Carlo and Rome.
Earlier, defending champion Sinner delivered a rock-solid display to triumph 7-6(4), 6-2 and reach his eighth ATP Masters 1000 final, Ending the dream run of World No. 136 Terence Atmane.
Through to his ninth ATP Masters 1000 final (7-1) and first on hard courts since he claimed the Indian Wells crown last year, Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 16 matches at that prestigious level on the heels of his title runs in Monte-Carlo and Rome.
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Despite defeat, Atmane surged 67 spots to a new career-high No. 69 in the ATP Live Rankings. The 23-year-old is next scheduled to compete in the qualifying event for the US Open, which begins Monday.