Carlos Alcaraz Clarifies His Rivalry With Jannik Sinner: “Sometimes We Forget About That”

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have defined the current generation of tennis, having dominated the men’s circuit in two consecutive seasons. They are the only players who have won Grand Slams since 2024, and the last person to win a major tournament outside of the duo was Novak Djokovic, at the 2023 US Open.

Last year, Sinner claimed his first Grand Slam at the Australian Open after coming from two sets down to beat Daniil Medvedev. There were expectations that it was going to just end there for the Italian star who has continued with his excellent form from 2023. But he successfully won his second Slam at the US Open that same year.

Meanwhile, Alcaraz won back-to-back majors in 2024 at Roland Garros and Wimbledon. But it was this season that the rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz reached its peak. They faced each other in the first Slam final at the French Open, where the Spaniard came from two sets down to win the title in a match that lasted for 5 hours and 29 minutes.

The two top players met again at the Wimbledon final; this time, Sinner earned his well-deserved revenge, claiming his maiden grass-court Grand Slam. A few months later, they met again at the US Open final. Alcaraz defeated Sinner in four sets, extending his head-to-head record against the Italian star to 10-5 on tour.

They are both competing at the ATP Finals and are the favorites to meet in the final. During an interview with CNN, Alcaraz was asked about his rivalry with Sinner this season. The 22-year-old revealed that sometimes he doesn’t view it as a rivalry, but just two players trying to find out each other’s weaknesses:

I think the word rivalry stays in the professional part In terms of tennis, we try to find each other’s weaknesses on the court, but then when we greet each other at the net and leave the court, we are completely different. Sometimes we forget about that rivalry and we are just people.

Sinner has been in red-hot form since losing to Alcaraz at the US Open final in September. The World No.2 has won the China Open, the Vienna Open, and the Paris Masters. The only tournament he failed to win was the Rolex Shanghai Masters, where he was forced to retire after struggling with the humid conditions at the event in October.

Jannik Sinner looks forward to ending the year excellently by winning the ATP Finals

Jannik Sinner began his ATP Finals title defense with an impressive win against Felix Auger-Aliassime on Monday (November 10). It was the Italian star’s second win over the Canadian in just one week. Sinner then beat Alexander Zverev in straight sets, and will face Ben Shelton next in the final group stage match.

Sinner has been to the ATP Finals for the past two consecutive seasons on tour. During the aforementioned interview, he revealed that he hopes to end the 2025 season on a fantastic note by winning the prestigious season-ending title for the second time in his career:

It has been a very different year for me. It has been a year with very unusual situations, here there is an extra motivation and pressure, which is a privilege. It would be fantastic to end the season with victory, with the big trophy, but you cannot forget how the season went. This has once again been a great year for both of us.

Sinner also has an on finishing the year as World No.1. It will be the second consecutive year he will claim the achievement. However, Carlos Alcaraz stands on his way as he’s just one win away from claiming the year No.1. The Spaniard came into the tournament with a 1,050-point lead over Sinner and needed just more than 450 points to cement his place at the top.

Also Read: Andy Murray Reveals the Two Major Regrets he Now has About his Career

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