World No. 1 Jannik Sinner celebrated his 24th birthday by defeating French qualifier Terence Atmane 7-6(4), 6-2 in the Cincinnati Masters semi-finals, securing his 200th career win on hard courts. The Italian, who did not face a break point and won 91% of first-serve points, extends his unbeaten run on the surface to 26 matches and becomes the first man since Roger Federer (2014-15) to reach consecutive Cincinnati finals. Atmane’s dream week ended after eight straight victories that began in qualifying and included upsets of top-10 players Taylor Fritz and Holger Rune. Ranked 136th, the 23-year-old is projected to break into the top 100 for the first time despite the loss. Sinner will meet world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, who overcame an ailing Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-3 in the other semi-final. The Spaniard advances to his second Cincinnati title match, his ninth Masters 1000 final overall, and carries a 16-match winning streak at Masters events. Alcaraz leads their head-to-head 8-5, though Sinner won their most recent encounter in July’s Wimbledon final. Monday’s championship will serve as a high-profile tune-up before the U.S. Open begins on 24 August.