When Carlos Alcaraz overcame Jannik Sinner in an unforgettable late-night classic at the 2022 US Open, the natural assumption was that their rivalry would come to define the future of men’s tennis.
That things have not quite worked out that way has been largely down to circumstance. Both men have continued to produce the extraordinary level they showcased that night in New York. Between them, they have won seven of the 10 grand slam finals contested since, but none of those titles have been won in direct competition with each other, with the duo yet to cross swords at the climax of a major.
Sinner’s fourth-round win at Wimbledon in 2022, and Alcaraz’s five-set semi-final victory at last year’s French Open, are their only other grand slam meetings to date.
That will surely change in time – and perhaps sooner rather than later, given that the pair will be seeded to contest the final of the French Open, which begins in Paris a week from now. In the meantime, though, the 11th instalment of their rivalry, in Sunday’s final of the Rome Masters, offered ample food for thought.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that Sinner is still only nine days into his return from a three-month doping ban, it was not a vintage encounter. For all the tension of a first set in which little separated the pair, the Italian faded markedly after falling behind, while Alcaraz curbed his natural instinct to entertain in favour of a more tactically disciplined approach.
It made for a contest high on quality and intensity but low on drama, certainly in comparison with their best encounters. Once Alcaraz fended off two set points to force a first-set tiebreak, any sense of jeopardy quickly drained from the match, the Spaniard seizing control of the ensuing shootout with a mini-break and a pair of thunderous aces. From there, Sinner was always playing catch-up, Alcaraz completing his 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 victory with something to spare.
It was Alcaraz’s fourth straight success against the Italian world No 1. Following his win at last month’s Monte Carlo Masters, the 22-year-old becomes the first man to win multiple clay-court titles at this level since his compatriot Rafael Nadal in 2018. He is also the first to beat Sinner since last October, when the Italian responded to defeat by Alcaraz in the China Open final by embarking on a 26-match winning streak.
It means Alcaraz will arrive in Paris not only as the defending champion, but as the man to beat; seeded second, but in pole position to claim his fifth grand slam title.
“Today was a great level, I think for both of us, especially the first set,” said Alcaraz after sealing the win in an hour and 29 minutes. “I knew at the beginning, the matches against Jannik are always really tactical. I think today I started the match really well.
“Tactically, [from] the beginning till the last ball, I didn’t lose focus, which is great for me. [It’s] probably one of the best matches I played so far in terms of level, maintaining the level during the whole match. So I’m just really proud about that.
“Winning tournaments, lifting trophies, gives you a lot of confidence coming to the next tournaments. Masters 1000s give you a lot of confidence in yourself, just to know that you are on the right path, in the right way, playing great tennis. I’m just excited about what’s to come for me.
“I’m doing the right things, and I’m going to keep doing the right things, the right work, coming to Paris.”
For the returning Sinner, it was perhaps a match too far. His triumphant progress to the final, soundtracked by the feverish adulation of an adoring home crowd, included a clinical evisceration of two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud, against whom he dropped just one game, and a battling victory over Tommy Paul in the last four, where he also had to contend with a tight hamstring.
Despite his inability to complete a clean sweep of the singles titles, following Jasmine Paolini’s emphatic win over Coco Gauff in Saturday’s women’s final, Sinner can reflect with satisfaction on a fine week’s work.
“After three months [out], coming here, making this result, means a lot to me, a lot to my team also,” said Sinner. “We worked a lot to be here.
“For sure there are some things like we saw today what we have to improve if we want to do good in Paris. I am closer than expected in a way. But in the other way, it was good.
“It was a great week for me. Some matches incredibly well, some matches could be better. But this is tennis. It’s a lot of ups and downs.”
There have been plenty of those for Sinner in the nine months since it emerged that he twice tested positive for the banned substance clostebol last spring.
An independent panel accepted his explanation that the failed tests were caused by contamination from a bare-handed massage by his physio, who had used an over-the-counter treatment containing clostebol. Free to continue competing after the panel concluded that Sinner “bore no fault or negligence”, he went on to win a maiden US Open title before a successful defence of his Australian Open crown took his tally of majors to three.
But after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which accepted Sinner’s explanation but insisted he should bear some responsibility for the incident, the Italian reluctantly agreed to a ban running from 9 February to 4 May.
An arrangement that allowed Sinner to return to the game in time for the next grand slam – and in his home country, no less, where he has predictably been afforded a hero’s welcome – was understandably deemed a little too convenient by many observers.
Yet the ice has been broken, and Sinner can head to Roland Garros confident in the knowledge that he has been accepted back into the fold, and reassured that his tennis remains at the level required to challenge for the biggest prizes.
Even so, it will be fascinating to see how he is received by the famously fickle Parisian crowd. On Sunday, he was greeted by a sea of orange hats and serenaded with chants of “Olè, olè, olè, olè, Sin-ner, Sin-ner”, just as he has been all week; at Roland Garros, where the locals may find something comfortingly familiar about a Spanish champion weaving his magic on the red clay, Alcaraz can expect the support to be more evenly divided.
That he was able to enter the lion’s den at the Foro Italico and emerge unscathed can only give Alcaraz confidence. His run of success against Sinner notwithstanding, the Spaniard remains wary of the danger posed by his contemporary.
“It doesn’t matter that he was out of the tour for three months,” said Alcaraz. “Every tournament he’s playing, he plays great. The numbers are there. I mean, he wins almost every match he plays.
“That’s why I’m even more focused when I play against him. If I don’t play at my best, 10 out of 10, it’s going to be impossible to beat him. That’s why I’m more focused when I’m playing against him, or I feel a little bit different when I’m going to face him than [when I face] other players.
“He has that aura. When you see him at the other side of the net, it’s kind of different. That’s why obviously I’m feeling that the people are putting so much – how can I say – pressure, in a certain way, to both of us when we are facing each other.
“I feel like it’s a different energy when we are facing against each other.”
If they meet again in Paris, they will bring that energy to a grand slam final for the first time. it is a contest the world longs to see.