Carlos Alcaraz claimed his first China Open title here on Wednesday after defeating top seed Jannik Sinner in a thrilling three-hour-and-21-minute match while Paris Olympics winner Zheng Qinwen stormed into the quarterfinals of the women’s singles, maintaining the hopes of the country’s tennis fans.

The 21-year-old Alcaraz recovered from one set down to secure his 16th ATP tour singles crown with a score of 6-7 (6), 6-4, 7-6 (3).

In the dramatic final-set tiebreak, Alcaraz staged an impressive comeback, winning seven consecutive points when trailing 3-0 to shatter the Italian’s hopes of defending his title, reports Xinhua.

This victory not only ended Sinner’s unbeaten streak in Beijing but also made Alcaraz the second Spaniard, after Rafael Nadal, to claim the China Open men’s singles championship.

Alcaraz praised the thriller, saying he believes the match with Sinna will bring more attention to the sport. “I think for the people who don’t watch tennis, probably thanks to these kinds of matches, they will start to watch tennis or even practice it,” he said.

The four-time Grand Slam winner also expressed gratitude to his team, admitting, “After the American swing, I was a little bit down. I didn’t want to touch a racquet for a while.”

“After that, we talked a lot during those days, knowing that I have to be back practicing, be stronger physically, be stronger mentally just to overcome problems,” he added, “The last month, we’ve been working really hard on the court and off the court, just to be able to feel this moment again.”

On the women’s side, home favourite Zheng Qinwen rallied from one set down to beat Amanda Anisimova of the United States. The newly crowned Olympic champion lost the first set 6-3 but bounced back in a dominant fashion, winning the next two sets 6-1, 6-2. Zheng will face Mirra Andreeva in the quarterfinals, who dispatched Poland’s Magda Linette with a convincing score of 6-1, 6-3.

Meanwhile, world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka secured her place in the quarterfinals by overcoming Madison Keys of the United States 6-4, 6-3. Sabalenka’s next challenge will come from the Czech Republic’s Karolina Muchova, who triumphed over Cristina Bucsa of Spain in straight sets.