Jannik Sinner has already shown how he plans to beat Carlos Alcaraz in the future in first match since the US Open

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Jannik Sinner failed to defend his US Open title recently, as he lost to his greatest rival.

In four sets, Sinner lost to Carlos Alcaraz 2-6, 6-3, 1-6, 4-6, as the Italian came up short against the Spaniard once again.

After the match, Sinner suggested he would make changes to his game in a bid to achieve better results against the man who has now won seven of their last eight matches.

“You arrive at a point where you play against Carlos [Alcaraz], where you have to go out of the comfort zone, so I’m going to aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but try to make some changes,” he said during his post-match press conference.

“I’m going to try to be a bit more unpredictable as a player, because I think that’s what I have to do to become a better tennis player.”

Playing his first match since the US Open, Sinner showed off his new-look game in China.

Jannik Sinner introduced slices to his game in China

In round one of the China Open, Sinner defeated Marin Cilic in straight sets, 6-2, 6-2.

The Italian was seen slicing the ball a lot more against the big-serving Croat, often to good effect.

Fans of Sinner grew frustrated with him during the US Open final for not using the shot, which could have opened up opportunities for him against Alcaraz.

His serve also looked strong, which was well below par last time out on Arthur Ashe Stadium.

Making 77% of his first serves was a real sign of improvement, having only reached that number three times previously during his career.

In general, there was more variety in his game, coming to the net more often, as well as playing more drop shots against the big-serving Croat.

It must be said that there is a difference in playing Alcaraz and Cilic, although there were certainly positive signs to take from his China Open first-round win.

Whether he can continue to improve remains to be seen, as he looks to turn the tide in his head-to-head with Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz’s head-to-head record

Sinner and Alcaraz have met 15 times on the ATP Tour, and the latter leads their head-to-head 10-5.

The Italian has only won one match against Alcaraz since the beginning of the 2024 season, defeating him in the Wimbledon final earlier this year.

He’ll be looking to return to winning ways soon, but won’t have a chance to do so in Beijing.

In a surprising move, Alcaraz chose to travel to Tokyo for the Japan Open this week, rather than Beijing, where he is the defending champion.

They could, however, meet at the upcoming Shanghai Masters event, which begins next week.

Sinner won the title in Shanghai 12 months ago, while Alcaraz lost to Thomas Machac in the quarterfinals.

Returning as the top two seeds in 2025, it will be interesting to see if the pair face off for the 16th time in their careers.

There’s still work to be done for the pair in Beijing and Tokyo, though, as Sinner prepares to take on Terence Atmane in the second round on Saturday, September 27, and Alcaraz looks to recover from an ankle injury in time to play Zizou Bergs.