CARLOS Alcaraz once again proved to be Jannik Sinner’s toughest rival, securing a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory to claim his first Italian Open title on Monday (May 19, 2025, PH time) and add another significant clay-court win to his growing list
of achievements.
Alcaraz’s dominance over Sinner has been a notable trend since the start of last year, with this win marking his fourth consecutive triumph against the current world number one. Their head-to-head record now stands at 7-4 in favor of Alcaraz.
The victory brought an end to Sinner’s impressive 26-match winning streak, a run that had stretched back to October and included a previous defeat by Alcaraz in the China Open final.
The Italian Open marked Sinner’s return to competition following a three-month break.
Alcaraz’s victory further solidifies his position as a strong contender for the upcoming French Open, where he is the defending champion.
Sinner’s return to the court was overshadowed by Alcaraz’s performance.
Earlier in the year, after winning his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, Sinner reached a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency.
This settlement raised some eyebrows, as the resulting three-month suspension did not cause him to miss any Grand Slam tournaments, and allowed him to return to play in his home tournament.
Sinner’s quest to become the first Italian man to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta’s victory in 1976 was thwarted. He was also aiming to contribute to an Italian sweep of the Rome singles titles, following Jasmine Paolini’s women’s singles victory on Sunday.
Paolini and her partner Sara Errani also successfully defended their women’s doubles title earlier on Monday. Paolini’s achievement made her the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to win both the singles and doubles titles in Rome in the same year.
A large portion of the 10,500 spectators at Campo Centrale were dressed in orange, Sinner’s signature color, and passionately chanted his name in anticipation of the match.
However, Sinner was unable to capitalize on two set points on Alcaraz’s serve at 6-5 in the first set. Alcaraz then seized control of the tiebreaker, gaining an early advantage with two aces and ultimately winning the set, before dominating the second set.
Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, is set to regain his world No. 2 ranking on Tuesday. This final appearance was his third in three clay-court events this season.
He previously won the Monte Carlo Masters and was the runner-up in the Barcelona Open, before withdrawing from the Madrid Open due to an injury.
With this latest victory, Alcaraz becomes only the fifth man in tennis history, joining Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Kuerten, and Marcelo Rios, to have won all three Masters 1000 clay-court events, adding another impressive milestone to his young career. / FROM THE WIRES