Alcaraz dethrones Sinner in Rome

Carlos Alcaraz welcomed Jannik Sinner back to the circuit with a spectacular victory on the Italian's home turf. In the final of the Rome Masters 1000, the only major clay court title missing from the Murcian's record, Alcaraz defeated Sinner 7-6 (5), 6-1, showing him that his return to the courts after serving a doping ban will not be an easy path.

Alcaraz secured his fourth consecutive win against Sinner, entering the final with a record of 42 wins and one loss since August, extending his head-to-head lead to 7-4. He also prevented the current world number one from becoming the first Italian to win in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976. The player from El Palmar is now the fifth player in history to win all three clay court Masters 1000 titles, alongside Rafa Nadal, Guga Kuerten, Marcelo Ríos, and Novak Djokovic, and joins the Brazilian and the Spaniard as the only ones to add Roland Garros to that triplet. Although Alcaraz will be the second seed, he is the main favourite to defend the title when the Paris Grand Slam begins next Sunday.

Sinner's figure, tall but more athletic than before his three-month doping suspension, was the last obstacle between Alcaraz and the Rome trophy. It was also the biggest, due to the Italian's local favourite status, the crowd's support, and a week in which he had shown the same form as when he left after the Australian Open.

The first set confirmed this. Sinner did not allow a single break on his serve and forced Alcaraz to take several steps back on the return to have opportunities to return the ball. From the stands, Juan Carlos Ferrero encouraged him to move forward to avoid always being at a disadvantage with the Italian, who could have taken the set at 5-6 when he had two set points. The first return went straight into the net, and the second set point was masterfully saved by the Spaniard, forcing a tiebreak where the tension increased to the point that the crowd kept shouting at Sinner during the Spaniard's second serves.

Not even an untimely double fault at 4-2 up denied Alcaraz a set that numbed the Italian, physically defeated by the mental blow of being behind on the scoreboard. Sinner had won 24 consecutive sets against top 10 players and was four away from John McEnroe's historical record, but Alcaraz ended his streak and dismantled him.

In Umag 2022 and Miami 2023, the Italian was able to turn around a match where the first set slipped away in the tiebreak, but here he was exhausted. Logical in part due to his three-month break from competing at this level. Alcaraz also deserves much credit, as he remained focused throughout and likely played one of his best matches of the year. One that is worth the third title of the season after Rotterdam and Monte Carlo, and a clay court tour in which, besides the title in the Principality and Rome, he also reached the final at the Conde de Godó. He has rightfully earned the status of favourite in Paris, where he will defend his crown.

The Murcian reduces the gap in the world rankings to 1,530 points, but it is impossible for him to surpass Sinner until at least after Wimbledon, as he defends 4,000 points in Paris and London. However, in the race to be the best of the year, Alcaraz already has a 990-point lead over the Italian.