Carlos Alcaraz made uncharacteristic errors against Jannik Sinner in the Monte Carlo Masters final.
Alcaraz was beaten by Sinner 7-6(5), 6-3 in their first meeting in 2026, as he lost his place as the world number one.
The Spaniard was very vocal throughout the match, with Alcaraz suggesting the serve was the key difference between him and Sinner in the Monte Carlo final.
However, Coco Gauff’s former coach, Brad Gilbert, believes that there was a more ‘unusual’ issue troubling Alcaraz.
Brad Gilbert claims Carlos Alcaraz particularly struggled with his backhand
When discussing the Monte Carlo Masters final on the latest edition of The Big T Podcast, Gilbert was full of praise for Sinner’s mentality, which he suggested was like Pete Sampras and Ivan Lendl.
Gilbert also claimed that Alcaraz was also making an uncharacteristic amount of errors on his backhand in the windy conditions.
Will Jannik Sinner win more Grand Slams than Carlos Alcaraz in 2026?
Which Grand Slams will Jannik Sinner win this year?
“I thought Sinner did a great job today,” said Gilbert. “I don’t know if you saw this as well, as two-all he missed an easy ball, break point. Four-all, missed an easy ball, break point. 6-4 in the breaker to win the set, missed an easy ball.
“But he didn’t rail on the box, he was a little bit Sampras like, little bit Lendl like, focused on the next point. I thought he did a great job of that today. But I really think that Sinner, everyone just thinks he’s a methodical player, the guy has a lot of variety.
“He doesn’t have as much as Alcaraz, but he’s added the drop shot. I feel like that he’s coming forward a little bit more and probably in the windy conditions today the thing that hurt Alcaraz most, it’s a little bit unusual for his backhand.
“He has a way better backhand line than backhand cross, and he wasn’t able to execute that shot in the wind today, which I think dramatically helped Sinner. And it’s not as easy to play the drop shots and the feel shots in the wind.”
There were a total of 83 unforced errors in the match, with Alcaraz hitting a greater share of those (45) than Sinner (38).
How long will Jannik Sinner stay as world number one?
Sinner will begin his third reign after winning the Monte Carlo Masters…
What is Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s Head-to-Head now?
After the final of the Monte Carlo Masters, Alcaraz still leads the head-to-head against Sinner 10-7, but he once led their rivalry 10-5.
When looking at their 17 previous meetings in more detail, it shows that there is little to separate the two players in terms of matches on the ATP Tour.
However, the real differential comes in the form of Grand Slam matches, with Alcaraz having never lost a five set match against Sinner.
| Head-to-Head | Carlos Alcaraz | Jannik Sinner |
| Straight sets (ATP Tour) | 4 | 3 |
| Three sets (ATP Tour) | 2 | 2 |
| Straight sets (Grand Slams) | 0 | 0 |
| Four sets (Grand Slams) | 1 | 2 |
| Five sets (Grand Slams) | 3 | 0 |
| Overall | 10 | 7 |
Sinner is now world number one after beating Alcaraz, but that could switch straight back if the Spaniard wins the title at the Barcelona Open.
The next tournament where Alcaraz could play Sinner again is at the Madrid Open, but there are currently doubts over whether the latter will even compete in the Spanish capital.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
