In a much-anticipated clash of youth, it was Jannik Sinner getting the better of Carlos Alcaraz for the second time this month, upending the teen 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 to win the Umag title, his first of the season.

“I am obviously very happy,” said Sinner after the match. “I have a tough year until now, I had some unfortunate moments, but we worked every time to play better, to be a better player, to be a better person. So, I’m very happy to be finally lifting a trophy this year, but I know that I still have a lot of things to improve… It’s all about the process.”

Early on, it was Alcaraz doing most the damage. The defending champion was cruising on serve though he couldn’t break the Italian.

In the tiebreaker, Alcaraz ran out to a 5-1 lead before Sinner came back to serve 5-6. The Spaniard, though, took the set with an incredible stretch get that Sinner failed to handle at the net.

Alcaraz would have three points to go up 2-0 in the second. Sinner would hold and never look back, remarkable running away with the match winning 12 of the next 13 games to win his first clay title, in his first clay final.

“That was a crucial point,” said Sinner of holding in the second game of the second set. “I knew I had to stay there. He made some unforced errors, and I was very happy that I won this game. Then I returned well and raised my level a little bit, and I think I found a solution then.”

Alcaraz, who had a brief look early in the second, lost his second straight to Sinner after Wimbledon, and his second straight final after falling to Lorenzo Musetti in Hamburg.

Sinner improves to 6-1 in ATP finals while Alcaraz drops to 5-2. This is the last clay event of 2022. Sinner now leads Alcaraz in this promising rivalry 2-1.