CINCINNATI (AFP) — World No. 1 Jannik Sinner lifted his third ATP Masters trophy as he beat Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to win the Cincinnati Open on Monday.

The Italian top seed warmed up for next week’s US Open in style, biding his time in a hard-fought first set before breaking the match open in the second.

Tiafoe, whose game faded after losing the first-set tiebreaker, still made an impression.

The American, who moves into the ranking top-20, saved three match points before Sinner claimed his 15th career title.

Cincinnati is the fifth trophy of 2024 for the 23-year-old Italian, who began the season with an Australian Open crown in Melbourne.

“I’m happy, this was a very difficult week,” Sinner said.

“It was tough mentally but I tried to do my best.”

“Frances and I were both tired from the (Sunday) semi-finals and there was a lot of tension.”

“I’m just glad I kept my level in the important moments. I handled the situations on court well.”

“There were many ups and downs, but that’s normal. At the big moments of each match I played well.”

Sinner heads to the 26 August start of the US Open as a major favorite, standing more than 2,000 points clear of world number two Novak Djokovic.

“I’m confident, but it’s important to be able to recover to be ready for New York,” the Italian said afterwards.

“That is the main goal of this US Open swing. “I’m happy to be in the position I’m in. I have the hunger to keep playing. I hope to show good tennis in New York.”

Against Tiafoe, Sinner hit 29 winners, including 13 aces and broke the American twice from eight attempts.   

“I’m really tired,” Tiafoe told Sinner at the net.

“I’m not used to playing so many matches like you big guys. Well-played.”

The pair dueled for nearly an hour in the opening set, with the Italian making 10 aces on the way into a tiebreaker.

One crack in Tiafoe’s defense was enough to hand Sinner two set point chances, with the first converted by the top seed for the early lead.

Tiafoe dropped serve to start the second as his reserves began to run dry, Sinner achieved a double break in a fifth game lasting for more than 10 minutes with seven deuces.

With a 4-1 lead, the Italian still had to fight, with Tiafoe saving three match points to climb to 5-2 before the top seed completed his work a game later.

Sinner is the youngest champion here since Andy Murray in 2008.