Stats: A withdrawal in a Masters 1000 final, a first in over ten years
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was forced to retire in the final of the Cincinnati Masters 1000 after just five games in the first set.
Trailing 5-0 against Carlos Alcaraz and visibly unwell, the Italian was unable to mount a real challenge against his rival.
As noted by the account *Jeu, Set et Maths* on X, this marks the first withdrawal in a Masters 1000 final since Kei Nishikori in Madrid in 2014. Eleven years ago, the injured Japanese player had to retire against Rafael Nadal (2-6, 6-4, 3-0 ret.).
In the 21st century, only two other finals in this tournament category have ended this way: Miami 2004, with Guillermo Coria retiring against Andy Roddick, and Cincinnati 2011, when Djokovic withdrew against Andy Murray.
With a total of eight retirements in the men’s draw in Cincinnati this year, this is the fifth tournament in history with the most withdrawals, matching the record set in Miami 2013 and just one short of Madrid this season and Shanghai 2009.
For Sinner, this is the sixth time in his career he has had to retire mid-match. The last time this happened was in 2023, during a quarterfinal in Halle against Alexander Bublik.
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