“Surface I like the least,” Jannik Sinner Aims for Improvement on Clay After Defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in Rome Final
Carlos Alcaraz ended Jannik Sinner's 26-match winning streak and lifted his first Italian Open title.
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Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Tommy Milanello, Carlos Alcaraz)
Jannik Sinner is the winner of 19 singles titles, one of which he lifted on clay. It was the 2022 Umag Open trophy he won by beating Carlos Alcaraz. And it was Alcaraz who denied him a fairytale run at the Italian Open.
On Sunday (May 18), Alacarz took an hour and 44 minutes to win his 10th clay-court title. In the set, Sinner failed to convert his set point at 15/40 and it was extended into the tie-breaker. Alcaraz carried the momentum to the second set, sprinting to 5-0 before Sinner was finally successful in winning a game. But obviously, it was too late.
With a 7-5(5), 6-1 win, Alcaraz snapped Sinner’s 26-match winning streak. Before this final, the last player to beat the World No.1 was Alcaraz, back in October last year, in the China Open final.
All Sinner wants right now is more improvement on the red clay, before starting his bid for his first French Open title. The most important thing for him is to work on his movement. He said at the press conference:
It was a good test to see where I am on clay, good to play before the Grand Slam against him. We have to improve; it’s the surface where I struggle the most, but it’s the first tournament, the surface I like the least. Making it to the final is good. I have to increase the intensity in Paris and maintain it for as long as possible.
At Roland Garros, the 23-year-old produced his best when he reached the semifinals last year and it was Alcaraz who clinched the five-set thriller before lifting his first Roland Garros title with a five-set win over Alexander Zverev.
Carlos Alcaraz says Jannik Sinner has an aura after his Italian Open final win
Carlos Alcaraz was all praise for Jannik Sinner after winning the Italian Open. He lauded Sinner for reaching the final despite playing his first tournament since the doping ban.
Alcaraz also thinks Sinner will be a “very dangerous” rival at the French Open. Even though the win was his fourth consecutive one over Sinner, the 22-year-old called the three-time Grand Slam champion the “best player in the world“. At the press conference, he said:
In every tournament he enters, he plays well. The numbers prove it. He wins almost every match he plays, which is why I’m even more focused when facing him. If I don’t play at my best level, it will be impossible to beat him. It’s a different feeling, he has an aura.
Alcaraz has now improved his head-to-head record over Sinner to 7-4. He is also 2-1 on clay-court events against the Italian ace.
Carlos Alcaraz wins his third title of the season
After losing the Australian Open quarterfinal match to Novak Djokovic, Alcaraz landed in Rotterdam and ended his campaign at the ATP 500 event by lifting the title for the first time in his career. Alcaraz, however, struggled to reach the final in the next three tournaments he played, including the two Sunshine Double tournament.
He entered the clay swing without capturing a title in the two Masters 1000 events in the United States. At the Monte Carlo Masters, the first clay-court Masters 1000 tournament, Alcaraz became a champion for the first time in his career.
He made back-to-back finals on the clay at the Barcelona Open but was unsuccessful in beating Holger Rune. Alcaraz then skipped the Madrid Open due to an injury, before playing the Italian Open and winning the title for the first time in his career. With these three trophies, he has now become the player with the most titles this season on the ATP Tour.
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