Carlos Alcaraz claims Jannik Sinner has done something ‘insane’ after beating him in the Italian Open final

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Carlos Alcaraz is the champion in Rome, after defeating Jannik Sinner in straight sets to clinch his first Italian Open.

Alcaraz took the first set in a tie-break, before dominating the second set against Sinner, who struggled to find a winner against his red-hot opponent.

The Spaniard sealed his second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season, having already emerged victorious in Monte-Carlo.

In his triumph, the world number two put an end to the Italian’s 26-match winning streak, which began after the last clash between the two in October at the China Open, where Alcaraz beat Sinner in the final.

Following his victory on Campo Centrale, the Italian Open champion had a few words for his rival and acknowledged the mental toughness in Sinner’s return to tennis.

Carlos Alcaraz says Jannik Sinner making the final in his first tournament back is ‘insane’

After the match, Alcaraz said: “The first thing that I want to say is that I am really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level.”

“I am pretty sure it wasn’t easy for him coming from three months without playing and the first tournament he plays making the final of a Masters tournament in Rome is something insane so I have to congratulate him for the great week, for his team as well.”

“I am just super happy to see them around again and just proud of myself, of the way I approach the game and the match mentally, in terms of style of play and tactically I think I did it pretty well from the first point to the last one.”

He concluded: “I did not do a rollercoaster, I maintained my level throughout the match, so I am really proud.”

Carlos Alcaraz takes a 7-4 lead in his head-to-head with Jannik Sinner

Alcaraz has made it four wins in a row against Sinner, with his last loss to the world number one coming at the China Open in 2023.

Since then, the four-time Grand Slam champion came out on top in the semi-finals of both Indian Wells and Roland Garros in 2024, the final of the China Open last year, and the final at this year’s Italian Open.

The Rome runner-up earned his wins in the rivalry at Wimbledon and the Croatia Open in 2022, and twice more in 2023 at the Miami Open and in Beijing.

Sinner and Alcaraz will go into Roland Garros as the first and second seeds, respectively, and will meet in the final should they advance through their halves of the draw.