Italian Open fans were left disappointed after the men’s final, in which Carlos Alcaraz defeated home favourite Jannik Sinner.
Sinner thinks Alcaraz is the best player on clay after his win in the Italian Open final, where he triumphed 7-6(7-5), 6-1.
Alcaraz is already a seven-time ATP Masters 1000 title winner at the age of 22, with 19 career ATP titles to his name overall.
Sinner is also on 19, but the world number one failed to make use of the home advantage in the Italian capital to add another.
He was playing in his first match back since returning from a three-month doping ban, having been on a 26-match winning streak.
Brad Gilbert surprised by fans in Italian Open final between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz
But along with home support for Sinner, Coco Gauff’s former coach Brad Gilbert thinks the Italian Open crowd also showed a lot of love for Alcaraz.
Having seen Italian Jasmine Paolini beat Gauff in the women’s final, Gilbert took to social media to share a surprised verdict in the men’s final.
He wrote on X: “Escape from Alcaraz transcends the sport, yesterday the crowd was massively for Jasmine, Carlos has surprisingly good support today from Italian crowd.”
Who did Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner beat en route to Italian Open final?
Despite being only 22, Alcaraz has achieved huge success in his career so far, with four Grand Slam titles among his 19 career wins.
And such success has earned him a global fanbase, with many supporters finding it impossible to ignore his clear talent and indeed very likeable personality.
Sinner meanwhile undoubtedly lost a few fans after his doping case, but he also has a huge fanbase thanks to his superb career.
The 23-year-old also remarkably has 19 career titles, three of which have come at Grand Slam level, with plenty more success now on the cards in the near future after another strong tournament.
| Jannik Sinner (1) | Round | Carlos Alcaraz (3) |
| Bye | Round one | Bye |
| Mariano Navone (6-3, 6-4) | Round two | Dusan Lajovic (6-3, 6-3) |
| Jesper De Jong (6-4, 6-2) | Round three | Laslo Djere (7-6(7-2), 6-2) |
| Francisco Cerundolo (7-6(7-2), 6-3) | Round of 16 | Karen Khachanov (6-3, 3-6, 7-5) |
| Casper Ruud (6-0, 6-1) | Quarter-final | Jack Draper (6-4, 6-4) |
| Tommy Paul (1-6, 6-0, 6-3) | Semi-final | Lorenzo Musetti (6-3, 7-6(7-4)) |
It took Alcaraz one hour and 44 minutes to secure the win over his rival, in a match in which he saved two set points.
Both players showed their class throughout the ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome, with a long list of talented players overcome along the way.
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