Jannik Sinner got quite the surprise before his Cincinnati Open semi-final match. His opponent handed him a Pokémon card as a birthday gift.
The top three ranked players in the world all made it to the Cincinnati semi-finals. Then there was Terence Atmane, ranked 136th and having the tournament of his life.
Atmane was facing Sinner on the Italian’s 24th birthday. Talk about timing.
| Name | Age | Points | Stats 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jannik Sinner | 24 | 15,405 | 33 - 3 |
The French player is apparently a huge Pokémon fan. So he decided to give the world’s best tennis player a Pokémon card before they battled it out on court.
Pretty cool gesture, right?
But once the match started, all friendliness went out the window. Atmane showed exactly why he’d made it this far in the tournament.
Birthday Boy Had to Work for It
Sinner eventually won 7-6(4), 6-2, but it wasn’t as easy as that score might suggest.
After the match, Sinner was stopped by the tournament staff. He proudly showed off the Pokémon card he’d received, thanking Atmane again for the thoughtful gift.
Even though he was playing someone ranked outside the top 100, Sinner had to really battle. Atmane brought all the skills that had gotten him to his first Masters semi-final.
The world No. 1 admitted it was tougher than expected.
"It was a very, very tough challenge. Every time you play against something completely new, it’s difficult, but playing against this guy in the later stages of a tournament is even more difficult. The pressure is higher and you know they deserve to be there… He has beaten incredible players throughout his wins."
Sinner clearly respected what Atmane had accomplished during these two weeks.
"I knew that I had to be very careful, and my mindset was in a good spot. I felt like I handled the situations on the court very well. He was serving incredibly well in the first set. He has huge, huge potential, and I think we saw that in the tournament."
The Big Showdown Awaits
Now Sinner gets to face his biggest rival for the Cincinnati title. Carlos Alcaraz is waiting in the final.
This will be their fourth straight meeting in a major final. They’ve already played for titles at the Italian Open, French Open, and Wimbledon this year.
The final’s scheduled for Monday at 3 p.m. local time. That’s pretty unusual for a Masters final, but it’s not the tournament’s choice.
The new two-week format for Masters 1000 events pushed everything back. Tournament organizers would’ve much rather had their final on the weekend, but the schedule just didn’t work out that way.
Weather could still shake things up. Rain already delayed Alcaraz’s semi-final against Alexander Zverev, so Monday’s final isn’t guaranteed either.
But whenever they play, it should be another classic between tennis’s two best young players.
