Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner in the final of the Italian Open on Sunday to mark the perfect build-up to the French Open, which gets underway in Paris next week
Carlos Alcaraz has welcomed Jannik Sinner back to top level tennis after the Italian’s return from a doping ban. Sinner had been forced to sit on the sidelines for three months after testing positive for Clostebol.
The ban followed a deal Sinner’s team negotiated with the World Anti-Doping Authority and came into effect on February 9. He served the full length of the suspension ahead of the Italian Open and will be free to play in all four majors this year.
In his first tournament back, Sinner reached the final in Rome, where he came up against Alcaraz. Both men were looking to win the Italian Open for the first time, with Sinner playing in front of a home crowd.
Sinner struggled to match Alcaraz though, with the Spaniard claiming a 7-6, 6-1 win. Both players are now building up to the French Open, which gets underway on Sunday.
The duo are expected to be two of the favourites to win at Roland-Garros, with Alcaraz the defending champion. Having beaten Sinner on Sunday, Alcaraz admitted he was pleased to see one of his biggest rivals return to the court.
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“I’m just really happy to get my first Rome Alcaraz makes feelings clear after beating Sinner on rival’s return from ban, hopefully it’s not going to be the last one,” he said. “The first thing I want to say is that I’m just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level.
“I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him coming back after three months and making the final of a Masters 1000 in his first tournament [back]. It’s something insane, so I have to congratulate him. I’m proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally.
“Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one. I didn’t do a rollercoaster… I maintained my good level throughout the whole match, so I’m really proud about everything I did today.
“All eyes are on Paris right now, on Roland Garros. Beating Jannik, winning Rome, both things mix together and give great confidence going to Paris. I always say ‘The final is not about playing, the final is about winning’. I just repeat everytime I play a final.”
Sinner entered Sunday’s final on a 26-match winning run and forced Alcaraz to save two set points in the opener. But once the Spaniard found his rhythm, Sinner was unable to keep pace.
Alcaraz dropped just six of 27 first-serve points in the opening set and saved each of the break points he faced, which doubled as set points. After edging the opening set, the reinging French Open champion was dominant in the second.
The 22-year-old deployed a series of brilliant defensive groundstrokes as well as trademark drop shots to help to a win. Sinner meanwhile is now turning his focus to Paris, having reached the semi-finals last year.
“[The] first set for sure was a little bit of a game-changer. But talking generally, [I am] very happy about this tournament,” Sinner said. “It gives me hopefully confidence to play some good tennis also in Paris.
“Let’s see what’s coming out there. But after three months, coming here, making this result means a lot to me, a lot to my team also. We worked a lot to be here.”
