Why Jannik Sinner is Carlos Alcaraz's biggest rival on ATP Tour?

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner first faced in the ATP tour in 2021.

It was an action-packed Asian swing on the ATP Tour calendar that saw Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz slugging it out for more sporting glory. Between them, the duo has so far won 11 titles (four for Alcaraz and seven for Sinner) in the 2024 season, including all four Grand Slams – two each.

The month of September winded-up with Alcaraz being crowned the China Open champion for the first time and the second Spaniard since Rafael Nadal to triumph in the Chinese capital.

When Alcaraz thwarted Sinner’s bid for a second consecutive China Open title, he notched up a third straight victory over the Italian for the first time. It was their 10th meeting since 2021 on the ATP Tour, which Alcaraz leads 6-4 following the latest win in Beijing. Half of the Spaniard’s career wins over the Italian have come in 2024. The Spaniard recorded two hard court and one clay court win over the Italian in 2024.

The rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz has moved firmly into the territory of established rivalry as opposed to blossoming in the space of three short years. They have played each other more times than they have against the remainder of the top 10. The only exceptions being Sinner vs Daniil Medvedev (14 meetings) and Alcaraz vs Alexander Zverev (10 meetings).

The Italian won his first two Grand Slams in the 2024 season meanwhile Alcaraz collected his third and fourth slam. Their rivalry has always delivered in terms of blockbuster action and intense ground strokes. They have faced each other in all three surfaces.

The much-anticipated semi-final clash in Shanghai between Sinner and Alcaraz did not materialise after the Spaniard lost to Czech player Tomas Machac, in the last eight stage of the Shanghai Open Masters.

However, the ATP World No. #1 from Italy went on to win his third ATP Masters of the season in the title clash against four-time winner Novak Djokovic. In doing so, he became the first player to win three Masters 1000s in a single season since Rafael Nadal in 2018.

Let us unpack the Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz rivalry after 10 rounds:

Paris Masters 2021, Second Round (Alcaraz 1-0)

Court 1 at the Rolex Paris Masters is where the Jannik Sinner–Carlos Alcaraz rivalry began, though the Spaniard had previously got the better of the Italian 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the ATP Challenger Tour at Alicante in April 2019.

Alcaraz was 18 years old and World No. #35 in the ATP Rankings, and downed the eighth seeded Sinner in their first ATP-level head-to-head meeting. The Italian was competing as a top 10 player for the first time that week. Alcaraz won their second-round clash 7-6(1), 7-5, carving out 11 break-point opportunities and converting two of them. He also fired 24 winners in that contest, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Wimbledon 2022, Fourth Round (Sinner 1-1)

Walking out onto Centre Court, on the day Wimbledon was celebrating the 100th anniversary of Centre Court, Sinner and Alcaraz were making their Centre Court debut in 2022.

Sinner took an early lead, grabbing the first two sets and was a point away from wrapping up the win in straight sets before Alcaraz found his rhythm to force a third-set tiebreak. The Spaniard converted on his fourth set point, and the match headed into the fourth set.

The Italian began by holding serve in his opening two games of the fourth set, then edged ahead of Alcaraz with a decisive break to edge closer to a place in the quarterfinals. Sinner saved a breakpoint and went on to serve out of the match at 5-3 in one of the fortnight’s most entertaining matches. He clinched victory after three hours and 35 minutes with a forehand winner – his 35th of the match to win 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3.

Also Read: Carlos Alcaraz vs Jannik Sinner head-to-head record 

Croatia Open Umag 2022 Final (Sinner 2-1)

Facing each other in a championship match for the first time, Sinner recovered from an opening set loss, helping himself to a three-set win 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 to dent Alcaraz’s title defence hopes in Croatia.

Sinner held his nerves in the second game of the second set, fending off six break points in that game alone. The Italian broke Alcaraz’s serve in the next game while converting a total of five times in the 2-hour, 30-minute match. 

That was the second win over Alcaraz for Sinner in 2022, fetching him his sixth tour-level title to go up 1-0 in finals against the Spaniard.

US Open 2022, Quarter-finals (Alcaraz 2-2)

In what turned out to be the longest match of the 2022 US Open, clocking 5 hours, and 15 minutes, Alcaraz battled Sinner well into the New York night before emerging victorious 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3.

In the closely fought encounter, Sinner’s 13 double faults and 67 unforced errors proved to be his undoing as he chased his first over the Spaniard on the tennis courts of Flushing Meadows.

Sinner had an opportunity to serve out the match at 5-4 but saw his chance evaporate as Alcaraz went on to win four straight games and force a fifth set. Trailing a break in the decider, the Spaniard repeated his fourth set heroics of winning four games in a row to wrap up the win at 2:50 am.

Alcaraz went on to win the US Open that year for his maiden Grand Slam over Norwegian Casper Ruud in four sets. By doing so, he became the youngest World No. 1 in ATP history.

BNP Paribas Open 2023, Semi-finals (Alcaraz 3-2)

The BNP Paribas Open was one of their two clashes in Masters events in the 2023 season. Carlos Alcaraz did not drop a set all through the event, spending not more than two hours on the court each time. He took out Sinner, who had won in Montpellier the February, in straight sets 7-6(4), 6-3 in just under two hours for his longest game of the tournament.

A lead of 3-0 in the decider, including a crucial break of the sinner serve in the second game, was the pivotal moment that handed Alcaraz the set and the match for the third Masters title of his career and the first of 2023.

Miami Open 2023, Semi-finals (Sinner 3-3)

Jannik Sinner turned the table on Alcaraz two weeks later at the Miami Open, where the Spaniard was the defending champion. The Italian who was World No. #11 coming into the event, unseated Alcaraz in the last four, 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 in just over three hours. 

Sinner’s revenge over Alcaraz in the show-stopping semi-final included a 25-ball rally that ended with a passing shot to hand the Italian the point. Sinner found himself facing two break points at 3-4 in the second. That close shave was a wake-up call for the Italian as he won 11 of 12 points to take the set. 

Sinner, the event’s 10th seed, broke the Alcaraz serve in the first and seventh games of the decider to enter the title round. It was Sinner’s second final in Miami since 2021, but he fell short, losing to Daniil Medvedev 5-7, 3-6 in just 95 minutes.

China Open 2023, Semi-finals (Sinner 4-3)

Emulating Alcaraz, who won 7-4 tiebreaks in the opening two sets of their previous two matches, Sinner took the opening set tie-break in a similar fashion during their China Open semi-final of 2023.

In a lengthy first set, Sinner clawed his way back twice from a break down besides winning six of eight net points. The Italian had to fight off five break points across his first two service games to cross the finish line with a 7-6(4), 6-1 win in 115 minutes.

Sinner went on to beat Medvedev in the Beijing final to claim his fourth tour-level title of the season, ensuring payback for losses to the Russian in Miami and Rotterdam earlier in the 2023 season.

BNP Paribas Open 2024, Semi-finals (Alcaraz 4-4)

The 2024 BNP Paris Open semi-final was their second last-four clash at the venue in as many years. However, the result was the same as their 2023 meeting, ending with Alcaraz overcoming Sinner in three sets.

Sinner was unbeaten in the season at a perfect 16-0, having won his maiden Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January prior to the last-four clash with Alcaraz.

Sinner cruised to a 6-1 lead, producing a perfect start, hitting six winners to Alcaraz’s one in the opening set. The Spaniard refused to throw in the towel and dialled back his errors in the second and third sets, along with converting three of four breakpoints across the last two sets.The final scoreline read 1-6, 6-3, 6-2 after Alcaraz won the lopsided decider, losing just three points on serve.

Roland Garros 2024, Semi-finals (Alcaraz 5-4)

The 2024 Roland Garros semi-final was the second five-setter of the head-to-head between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner. Both stars found their way to the last four with injury concerns and were keen to make their first final at the clay-court major.

Sinner was quick out of the gates, stealing the first set and was up a break in the second. The second set was all Alcraraz as he raised his level to swing the momentum in his favour. The Italian cramped his arm early but held on in the third set to take a two-set to-one lead.

But as the unforced errors (44 in all) began to flow from Sinner’s racquet, Alcaraz manoeuvred himself into a winning position and ended the five-setter after four hours and nine minutes. The 21-year-old Spaniard hit 65 winners compared to 39 for Sinner and served out the match on his third match point.

With the win over Sinner 2-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, Alcaraz became the youngest-ever player to reach a Grand Slam final on all three surfaces.

China Open 2024, Final (Alcaraz 6-4)

When Alcaraz and Sinner squared off in the finals of the China Open, it was their first summit clash since 2022. The result was a three-hour, 21-minute match – the longest in tournament history.

Trailing 3-0 in the final-set tiebreak, Alcaraz reeled off seven straight points to take home the trophy with a final score of 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3). Along with the trophy, he regained the World No. 2 position and moved to 7-1 over the ATP top five in 2024. The Spaniard did not drop a set in Beijing until his clash with Sinner in the finals.

Before losing the final-set tiebreak, Sinner had claimed 18 of his previous 19, including one in the opening set of the Beijing final.

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