Naturally, pundits have flocked to give their verdict on Carlos Alcaraz’s statement Italian Open win over Jannik Sinner yesterday.
After all, whenever these two meet, there is always huge interest from the entire tennis world.
This intrigue is all well-founded, given they are the top two-ranked ATP players in the world now following this event.
Heading into Roland Garros, their rivalry could not be more ablaze once again, and both players will be hungrier than ever to taste victory should they meet in the final in Paris.
Jim Courier analyses Carlos Alcaraz’s Italian Open final performance
Analysing the final immediately after its conclusion, Jim Courier was effusive in his praise for the Spaniard.
And for good reason, watching him sweep aside the world number one in straight sets in front of his home crowd.
But that should not detract from Carlos Alcaraz’s excellence, as Courier claims: ’It is the fact that Alcaraz can keep Sinner off beat, off guard and off balance and the fact that even on the set point where he eventually took in the opening set, Alcaraz does something that no other player in tennis would dare to do.
‘He comes in on a low percentage shot to Sinner’s forehand and he is good enough at the net to pull off these acrobatic shots, so it’s all the elements he can bring and him rising to the occasion. Let’s not sleep on that.
‘It’s one thing to have all these assets, it’s another to be able to do at crunch time which he has continued to do against Sinner. He doesn’t always do it against everybody. We have seen some downbeat days from Alcaraz where he beats himself with bad choices but whatever Sinner brings to the table, Alcaraz likes to match it and it’s pretty awesome for us as fans.’
Carlos Alcaraz ends Jannik Sinner’s win streak
Before today’s Italian Open final, the world number one was enjoying an unprecedented run of form.
However, that was somewhat offset by Sinner’s three-month ban from tennis, which did not allow him to extend or have that form cut short.
Regardless of that fact, it is still a mighty feat to have enjoyed a 26-match winning streak, even if it was cut brutally short by Alcaraz in front of an Italian crowd.
This record spanned over the Australian Open, Shanghai Masters and the ATP Tour Finals, all of which he won.
Jannik Sinner will be hoping to rekindle that run with a triumph at the French Open, but knows he faces stiff opposition.
His awareness is especially staggering given Sinner dubbed Alcaraz the favourite to win Roland Garros after their match.
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