Federer's controversial take on courts favouring Sinner and Alcaraz rubbished by Cincinnati Open chief: 'Not even close'

Roger Federer had caused quite the stir recently with his controversial suggestion that tournament organisers are deliberately producing slower courts in order to suit the playing styles of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the world’s top-two players who have been dominating Grand Slams and other major events for the last two years.

Federer had made the statement after Alcaraz defeated Sinner in the US Open final last month to win his sixth Major, resulting in the ‘Sincaraz’ pair completing a Grand Slam sweep for the second year running. It was also the third consecutive Grand Slam final featuring the two young stars, with Alcaraz and Sinner having won the French Open and the Wimbledon respectively earlier this year.

His claim was later supported by world No 3 Alexander Zverev, who claimed that “court speeds are the same in all tournaments” while competing in the Shanghai Masters last week.

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‘Players have come back to me that they feel fast’

The 20-time Grand Slam champion’s statement, however, was refuted by the director of the Cincinnati Open, the Masters 1000 event that takes place in the build-up to the US Open, who instead claimed to received feedback from players of the court “feeling fast”.

“Trying to create something that benefits certain players never goes through our head – not even close," Bob Moran, director of the ATP and WTA 1000 tournament that takes place annually in Cincinnati, Ohio, told BBC Sport.

“We were fast, and we had Sinner and Alcaraz (in the final). For the three years I’ve been doing this in Cincinnati, the players have come back to me that they feel fast.

“What we were really striving for this year was consistency throughout the swing – when they hit the States, in Washington DC, through to the US Open.

“We all decided that we wanted to be in that medium-fast to fast range. Our goal – consistent speeds, consistent ball – that’s what we are being told by the players they want," he added.

Interestingly, Alcaraz and Sinner had also met in the final of the Cincinnati Masters this year. The Spaniard was leading 5-0 in the first set when Sinner retired due to illness.