Jannik Sinner was unable to retain his China Open crown on Wednesday.

Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner heaped praise on his rival (Image: Sky Sports)

Jannik Sinner has revealed that he hopes to continue competing against Carlos Alcaraz, despite being put to the sword by the Spaniard in the China Open final.

The world No.1’s 15-match winning streak was ended by rival Alcaraz, who took seven points in a row to land the spoils in a sensational tiebreak after a match lasting three hours and 20 minutes in Beijing.

The 6-7 6-4 7-6 success sees Alcaraz claim his fourth title of the year and become the first player to win ATP 500 titles on all three surfaces, and Sinner could not resist singing the praises of his rival after his defeat.

Speaking after the loss, he said: “I’d like to start with Carlos and your team. You’re doing an amazing job. I wish you only the best. You have a great team and family behind you.

“Hopefully we’ll play a couple of more times in the future, I’m quite sure [we will]. It’s a big pleasure to share the court with you – so thank you so much.

“Of course, thank you to my team and my box and my family.. everyone who supports me daily and who understands me, which is sometimes not easy. The work never stops.

Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz talked up Sinner’s work ethic following the final (Image: Getty)

“I’m obviously very happy to be in this position. Today we fell short, but it was a great battle again. In a couple of days, there is a new opportunity. Thanks so much for your support.”

The victory means that Alcaraz has claimed his third success over the Italian in a row, and the 21-year-old was keen to repay the compliments to Sinner when speaking after the win.

Jannik Sinner

Jannik Sinner saw his winning run come to an end (Image: Getty)

He said: “Thank you. I would like to start with Jannik – what I can say about the year you are having, it’s unbelievable. You deserve it with the work you do with your team. You work hard and you are humble and you are getting success. I would like to congratulate you and your team for the work you do but more importantly, you are a great person. I respect you a lot as a player but more as a person.

“Then my family, my team – I’m really lucky. They support me every day and tell me the things I don’t want to hear! I want to thank you. The last two months have been a difficult moment but all the hard work we’ve been doing, playing great tennis and having a good time on the court I was able to have the joy again. It’s all thanks to you, for this week especially.”