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VIENNA: Jannik Sinner clinched his fourth title of the season on Sunday as the Italian rallied from a set down to beat Alexander Zverev in the final of the Vienna Open.

Sinner dropped his first set of the tournament before staging a comeback to see off Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 7-5 to land the 22nd title of his career.

It is his second triumph in Vienna, where he also lifted the trophy in 2023, and extended his winning run on indoor hard courts to 21 matches going into next week’s final Masters 1000 of the year in Paris.

But the top seed had to do it the hard way after falling behind as world No. 3 Zverev, who had won four of seven previous meetings, secured the only break of the first set to take the upper hand.

Sinner replied by racing 3-0 ahead in the second set as he forced a decider against the 2021 champion.

Zverev saved two break points in the fifth game of the third set but Sinner maintained the pressure despite battling a thigh issue in his first event since retiring with cramp at the Shanghai Masters.

Sinner created another opportunity at 5-all with a blistering backhand down the line and won a lengthy rally the following point to snatch the key break.

A routine hold wrapped up victory for the 24-year-old who has reached the final in eight of his 10 tournaments this season, with Sinner adding to his titles at the Australian Open, Wimbledon and Beijing.

Meanwhile, Belinda Bencic said she surprised even herself by winning a second title of the season in Tokyo on Sunday, a year after returning to tennis from having a baby.

The Swiss beat the Czech Republic’s Linda Noskova 6-2, 6-3 in the Pan Pacific Open final, following up her success at the Abu Dhabi Open in February.

Bencic gave birth to a daughter in April last year and returned to the WTA Tour six months later.

The 28-year-old said she did not expect her comeback to “go this fast and this well.”

“I’m really enjoying my time back on tour and I think it’s showing in the results,” she said.

“I couldn’t be more happy and I’m definitely surprised. This was definitely not planned.”

Bencic was ranked 421 in the world at the start of the season but has climbed to 13 and is projected to rise even higher after her Tokyo win.

It gave her the 10th WTA title of her career and came 10 years after she last appeared in the Pan Pacific final, where she lost to Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.

Bencic won Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021. She said she was not sure when she launched her comeback if she would be able to return to the upper echelons of tennis.

Her performance at the Australian Open, where she beat former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka on the way to the last 16, convinced her to continue.

“It’s hard work but it’s a lot of self-belief and a lot of mental belief as well,” said Bencic, who reached a career-high ranking of four in February 2020.

“I’m really happy to have this confirmation with myself that I’m able to try to even beat my best ranking from before.”

PARIS/RIYADH: SURJ Sports Investments, a PIF company, and ATP have announced the launch of an all-new ATP Masters 1000 tournament, to be hosted in ��������.  

In what is the first ever expansion of the tournament category, �������� will become the tenth ATP Masters 1000 host, joining the existing nine tournaments in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo, Madrid, Rome, Toronto/Montreal, Cincinnati, Shanghai and Paris. The Saudi tournament will begin as early as 2028.

The agreement marks a new era for global tennis and a major sports transformation in ��������, bringing the most celebrated names in the sport to the country and delivering an unforgettable experience for fans.  

The hosting of the tenth ATP Masters 1000 event underscores PIF’s long-term commitment to shaping the future of international tennis and global sport, and elevating ��������’s position as a premier global sports and entertainment hub. The deal builds on the existing strategic partnership between PIF and ATP, which includes PIF as the official naming partner of the PIF ATP Rankings (as well as the WTA rankings), partnering on several key ATP Tour events and the recent launch of a next-generation technology platform, ATP Tennis IQ Powered by PIF. As part of the agreement, the new event will join ATP and the existing Masters 1000 tournaments as a shareholder in ATP Media, the Tour’s global broadcast and media arm. 

The tournament will also focus on accelerating the growth of the game at all levels. A nationwide grassroots program, developed in partnership with the Saudi Tennis Federation, will promote inclusivity, accessibility, and talent development, inspiring the next generation of Saudi athletes and champions and creating robust pathways for participation. This supports part of PIF’s broader ambition to grow sport at all levels, and to help drive the development of tennis across both the men’s and women’s game. 

Bander Bin Mogren, Chairman of SURJ Sports Investment, said: “Bringing an ATP Masters 1000 event to �������� is a major step forward for tennis in the region and a reflection of our shared commitment with ATP to the growth of the game around the world. This announcement underscores ��������’s emergence as a major destination for world-class sport and strengthens our ambition to support athletes, fans, and the wider tennis community for years to come. We are proud to be leading this effort with our partners, and we are committed to delivering a tournament that leaves a lasting legacy for the sport.” 

Andrea Gaudenzi, ATP Chairman, commented: "This is a proud moment for us and the result of a journey that’s been years in the making. �������� has shown a genuine commitment to tennis – not just at the professional level, but also in growing the game more broadly at all levels. PIF’s ambition for the sport is clear, and we believe fans and players alike will be amazed by what’s coming. Strengthening our premium events is driving record growth and transformation across the Tour, and we’re grateful to our partners at PIF and SURJ for helping deliver that growth and sharing in this vision.”  

Danny Townsend, CEO of SURJ Sports Investment, added: "The launch of an ATP Masters 1000 in �������� is a defining moment in our journey to enhance the sports landscape. This tournament is more than an event; it is a statement of ambition, showcasing ��������’s role as a global sports hub. In partnership with ATP, we are committed to creating an extraordinary experience for players and fans, while advancing our mission to develop sport at every level.” 

Sports is a key strategic sector for PIF, unlocking opportunities and enriching lives while establishing �������� as a global destination for sports and a driver of long-term economic growth. PIF supports a wide range of sports globally and domestically, including football/soccer, tennis, golf, electric motorsports, combat sports and esports both to drive sports’ global growth and encourage participation domestically.  

With Riyadh having hosted the WTA Finals since 2024 and Jeddah as the home of the Next Gen ATP Finals since 2023, this latest announcement is set to strengthen the country’s connection with tennis and inspire an emerging fanbase with yet another glimpse of the world’s best players. 

More details on the tournament venue and dates will be announced in due course.