“Not easy to play” – Pescosolido defends Sinner after Cincinnati Open final exit

Overview

• Jannik Sinner’s Cincinnati Open campaign ended in disappointment.

• He was forced to retire from the final against Carlos Alcaraz after just 23 minutes due to illness.

• Former Italian player Stefano Pescosolido defended Sinner.

Jannik Sinner’s Cincinnati Open campaign ended in disappointment as he was forced to retire from the final against Carlos Alcaraz after just 23 minutes. The Italian was trailing 0-5 in the opening set but could not continue due to illness.

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Speaking about the situation in an interview with LaPresse, former Italian player Stefano Pescosolido explained that conditions were extremely tough for players during the tournament.

"The temperatures are very high there, there is a lot of humidity and it is not easy to play at certain times of the day. Sinner was not the only player to have problems, the same thing happened to Sascha Zverev during the tournament. No one can say that the Italian champion got his schedule wrong, on the contrary he rightly recharged his batteries after Wimbledon by skipping the Canadian Open in Toronto," he said.

Sinner will now be in action in the US Open 2025

Sinner has now shifted his focus to the ongoing US Open, but he addressed fans after the difficult end to his Cincinnati run.

“I’m super, super sorry to disappoint you. From yesterday I didn’t feel great. I thought that I would improve during the night, but it came up worse. I tried to come out, tried to make it at least a small match, but I couldn’t handle more, so I’m very sorry,” Sinner said.

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While Alcaraz went on to claim his sixth title of the season, he also showed his class with a heartfelt message for his rival. The Spaniard admitted it was not the way he wanted to win.

“This is not the way that I want to win trophies, I just have to say sorry, I can understand how you must feel now,” Alcaraz told Sinner. “As I said many times, you are a true champion and I am sure from these situations, you are going to come back even stronger, as you always do. That’s what true champions do. I’m sorry and come back stronger.”