‘When does the finalist play?: Jannik Sinner argues against Cincinnati Open’s 12-day expansion, backs one-week tournament structure

6 days ago 23

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Jannik Sinner argued against the 12-day structure of the Cincinnati Open. (Reuters)

Ahead of yet another showdown against Carlos Alcaraz in the Cincinnati Open, world no. 1 Jannik Sinner has argued against the expanding schedule of the Northern American Masters 1000 event, alongside the Canadian Open.

The Canadian Open and Cincinnati Open have been extended to 12 days, changing their usual Monday-to-Sunday format. The men’s final in Toronto took place on a Thursday, and the Cincinnati title match will be held on Monday. While the expansion has found supporters claiming more opportunities for lower-ranked players, Sinner has given a thumbs down to the move.

Sinnner remained firm on his support for one-week events like the Monte Carlo Masters. “It’s a question that’s quite irrelevant now to answer because we are in that position,” Sinner said after beating Terence Atmane in the semi-finals.

‘Losing a little bit of the week’

“My personal view…I love the one-week events. I love it when you see that the tournament in Monaco, for example, you have for Monte Carlo, you have this one-week event, and you have the first-round matches, which are incredibly good. And if one good seeded-player loses, the next match is an incredible match still, and you have the quarterfinals and you know exactly when you buy the tickets.”

While Sinner noticed the positives in a day’s break before the finals under the new structure, the 24-year-old explained the flipsides.

“You have the quarterfinals and then you have the semi-final, which is Saturday, and then you have finally Sunday. And now I lost a little bit of the view of when does actually a finalist [plays], because it used to be always Sunday,” he said.

“Now, here (in Cincinnati) it’s Monday. In Toronto, it’s Wednesday or Thursday. So it’s difficult even for us players. We lose a little bit of the days of the week, I would say.”

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Reason behind 12-day events

ATP CEO Andrea Gaudenzi exhorted in a recent interview that the new 12-day format allowed tournaments to enhance the overall experience.

“The shift to a 12-day format gave tournaments the time, stability and confidence they needed to think bigger — and what’s happening in Cincinnati is a perfect example,” Gaudenzi told atptour.com.

“Just look at what’s happening: record bonus pools, nine-figure infrastructure projects in Rome, Madrid, Shanghai, Cincinnati. None of this happens without the breathing room provided by the 12-day window. It’s allowed promoters to reinvest and enabled a 50-50 share of profits. That’s money flowing straight back to the locker room,” he added.

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