Sinner teaches Learner harsh lesson

No Alcaraz, no problem — without his toughest foe prowling across the net, Jannik Sinner reigned supreme in Beijing, claiming his second China Open title on Wednesday with an effortless straight-sets win over teen star Learner Tien.

The Italian world No 2, having bagged 500 ranking points and about $750,000 in prize money, stays in hot pursuit of Spain's top-ranked star Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Sinner in last year's final in Beijing, but skipped the ATP 500 tournament this year, in the race to finish 2025 as men's No 1.

With Alcaraz also taking the crown in Tokyo on Tuesday, both men remain in contention to finish the season on top of the world, but the Spaniard's injury-enforced withdrawal from the Rolex Shanghai Masters, a top-tier ATP 1000 tournament, is expected to allow Sinner a shot at significantly narrowing the current 590-point gap.

The Italian three-time major winner will fly to Shanghai to defend his Masters title in the East China metropolis, beginning from the second round.

After Shanghai, he will compete head-to-head against Alcaraz at the two remaining key tournaments — the final Masters in Paris (Oct 27-Nov 2) and the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy(Nov 9-16) — for the season-ending top honor.

"We will try to improve and push as much as we can. Let's see how the end of the season is going to look," Sinner said during his on-court interview after thrashing Tien 6-2, 6-2 in just 73 minutes in front of Beijing's National Tennis Center's packed Diamond Court.

Winning his second title in Beijing, following his first in 2023, gave him his third title of the year and his 21st in total. Sinner attributed his good form in the Chinese capital to the enthusiastic fan support and his freshness going into the end of the season.

"I feel like the crowd here has always been very special to me, already a couple of years ago when I first came," said Sinner, who joins only Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as a multi-title winner in Beijing.

"When you win, again, a title where you have already won one before, it's a very special place. It was, for sure, a couple of years ago, a turning point for my career, playing some great tennis against great opponents. This, I will always remember.

"The support has been amazing since day one. Seeing a packed stadium for the final, it's amazing. The crowd was very nice. That's why I wrote 'thank you'," Sinner said referring to the note he scribbled on the camera after his final victory.

"I managed to play incredibly well at the end of the season, because I made some choices earlier on by not playing couple of tournaments ... It was not easy.

"But, at the same time, I used the time to work on things. We've been practicing very hard. I feel like, physically, I'm getting slightly better every time."

The 24-year-old Italian, whose two other titles this year came at the Australian Open and Wimbledon, is the fourth player in 2025 to win three or more titles. Alcaraz leads the way with eight on the year.

Learning curve

It was the 19-year-old Tien's first Tour-level final appearance, and the rising star, who was born in California to Vietnamese parents, relished his first trip to Beijing, seeing it as a great learning curve.

"It's been a great week. Obviously, I would have loved to go all the way. Regardless, I'm super happy with the week. It's my first semifinal, my first final, so I'm very happy with the progress I'm making," said Tien, who's expected to move 16 places up the rankings to No 36 next week.

"It's my first time playing here in Beijing, and my second week in China. It's been great. The support I felt every match has been great. I've really been enjoying it.

"I'm learning a lot week to week, just playing more matches. This is my first year on tour, so I think, every week, I'm gaining a lot of experience, playing a lot of new players, playing in different environments; just a lot of different matchups.

"It's all great, all these experiences I'm getting," said Tien, who's been working with new coach Michael Chang, who became the youngest ever men's major champion when he won the French Open at 17 in 1989.

The rich experience brought by Chang, also an American-born player with Asian heritage, was vital for his breakout on the ATP Tour, Tien reckoned.

"I think the experience he has playing and coaching brings a lot, because I'm kind of someone starting off and I don't have that much experience," said Tien, who's gone five for seven against top-10 players in 2025 so far.

"I think just the experience he has from playing and coaching previously has just really helped me a lot.

"It's a new perspective that's really kind of opened my eyes. A fresh face, fresh voice has just been great."

Despite his lopsided win on Wednesday, Sinner predicted that Tien will stick around as a regular, tough opponent for everyone in the top echelon of the game.

"You've shown throughout the whole season what a talent you are," Sinner told Tien during the award ceremony.

"Keep going. You're playing incredible tennis. I wish you all the best for the rest of the season and, obviously, for your whole career. Hopefully, we can share more moments like this in the future."

A total of 13,041 spectators watched the final between Sinner and Tien, reaching a new high in single-day stadium attendance this year at the center court, according to China Open's organizers.

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn