Ahead of Rome Final Between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Rennae Stubbs Says She’s Against Ex-ATP Pro’s Proposal to Change Masters 1000

Carlos Alcaraz edges Jannik Sinner 6-4 in the head-to-head encounters and will be meeting in the final of the Italian Open.

Ahead of Rome Final Between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, Rennae Stubbs Says She’s Against Ex-ATP Pro’s Proposal to Change Masters 1000

Jannik Sinner, Rennae Stubbs, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via News.com.au, X/Tennis Letter Twitter, Carlos Alcaraz Brasil)

Before 2008, ATP aces used to play five-setters in the Masters 1000 events. But because of the grueling tennis schedule and other reasons, these were changed into the best-of-three events.

The last best-of-five Masters 1000 match was played between Novak Djokovic and Guillermo Canas at the 2007 Miami Open. At present, the last clay-court European Masters 1000 of the season, the Italian Open, is underway at Foro Italico.

Home favorite Jannik Sinner has set up a mouthwatering final clash with Carlos Alcaraz. Ahead of the match, former ATP pro from Australia, John Millman said he prefers the best-of-five Masters 1000 tournaments. He wrote on X:

Men’s Masters finals should go back to Bo5.

But his compatriot and Serena Williams‘ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, was not of the same opinion. She explained why the current Masters 1000 format should never change. Stubbs replied on X:

No no no no no no! They play enough already John. They’re already beating each other up, they’re playing 20+ ball rally’s and then trying to be ready for a tournament in a week. I LOVE a 2 1/2 final or 3 hours match, esp if Alcaraz and Sinner player at their best. It’s enough.

Check out their posts here:

Sinner and Alcaraz will be locking horns with each other 11th times. In their 10 matches, Alcaraz emerged victorious six times. The Italian Open is Sinner’s second tournament of the season following the Australian Open, where he ended the campaign in his favor by beating Alexander Zverev.

Sinner so far has registered two bagels in the tournament: against Casper Ruud in the quarterfinals and Tommy Paul in the semifinals. He has not yet lost a match since his defeat to Alcaraz in October last year at the China Open. While Sinner is chasing his fifth Masters 1000 title, Alcaraz is chasing his seventh title in the same category.

Lorenzo Musetti thinks Carlos Alcaraz faces a lot of unnecessary criticism

Lorenzo Musetti, who lost the Monte Carlo Masters final against Carlos Alcaraz, was unsuccessful in taking the revenge on the 22-year-old in the Italian Open semifinals, losing the match with a 6-3, 7-6(4) scoreline. With this win, the four-time Grand Slam champion took a 5-1 lead in the head-to-head encounter over the Italian ace.

Carlos Alcaraz Barcelona Open 2025
Carlos Alcaraz (via Instagram/ Carlos Alcaraz)

After beating Musetti, Alcaraz became a finalist in three clay-court events this season following the Monte Carlo Masters and the Barcelona Open. He entered the clay swing without capturing a Sunshine Double title for the first time since 2021 and for the same, he faced a lot of criticism. Alcaraz was denied a chance to claim the Career Grand Slam at the Australian Open by Novak Djokovic, who clinched a four-set win in the quarterfinals.

The youngster then took home his first Rotterdam Open title following which he lost the Qatar Open quarterfinal, and was unsuccessful in defending his Indian Wells title, before suffering a shock opening-round upset in Miami. After losing his semifinal match in Rome, Musetti was all praise for Alcaraz at the press conference.

Carlos is a phenomenon who has been unnecessarily criticized. Just look at the results. There isn’t much to criticize. Today, we didn’t display our best tennis, but he is an opponent with few weaknesses. He may not have Zverev’s serve, but he is a very complete tennis player.

Alcaraz and his Italian Open final opponent Jannik Sinner are 1-1 on clay. Sinner lifted his first and only clay-court title at the 2022 Umag Open by beating Alcaraz. The reigning French Open champion, on the other hand, lifted the clay-court Major last year after overcoming Sinner in the semifinal and Alexander Zverev in the final.

Also read: “It Wasn’t My Best Level at All,” Coco Gauff Gets Brutally Honest After Edging Past Qinwen Zheng in the Semi-Finals in Rome