Rome – There is only one player who has consistently been Janik Thinner.
Carlos Alcaraz once again defeated the top-ranked player, beating Sinner 7-6 (5), 6-1 to win his first Italian Open on Sunday, adding another big clay court title to his resume.
Since its launch last year, Alkaraz has been the only player to defeat a sinner multiple times, and has now done it four times in a row.
“I am proud of myself for the way I approached the game mentally,” Alcaraz said. “Tactically, I think I did pretty well from the start to the end point. I kept my level throughout the game.”
Alcaraz’s victory before Italico’s thinner home fans snapped Italy’s 26-match winning streak. This goes back to October when Alcaraz defeated him in the China Open Finals with a tiebreaker in the third set. Alcaraz leads the career series 7-4.
After a three-month ban on doping, it was the first tournament for thinners.
“I’m so happy that Janik is back at this incredible level,” Alkaraz said. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him to come back from three months without playing. It’s insane to make a final here.”
Alcaraz also cemented his position as a favorite to defend his title at the French Open, which begins next Sunday.
“You’re the best player in clay right now,” Sinner said.
Alcaraz, “We beat Giannik and won Rome. I think both of them blend in and give them confidence to come to Paris. The final is not about playing, the final is about winning, the desire for that.
Thinner has been playing his first tournament since winning his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.
In February, the sinner agreed to a settlement with the world’s anti-doping agency that raised the question, as the three-month suspension allowed him to return to the tournament at home without missing the Grand Slam.
Thinner said that he and his team “all really be able to achieve this result here for three months that’s not an easy one.”
He added:
Thinner was about to become the first homeman to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976. They were also about to complete a sweep of the Italian Roman singles title after Jasmine Paolini won the women’s trophy on Saturday.
Paolini and partner Sara Ellani defended the women’s doubles title early on Sunday, becoming the first woman since Monica Ceres in 1990, and wiped out Roman singles and doubles titles that same year.
Many of Campo Centrale’s 10,500 fans were decorated with orange-themed colour, and chanted his name before the match began.
“You gave me a lot of energy and gave me a lot of courage to come here in court. “It was very, very special. Thank you.”
The sinner also decided to joke about offering a “special thanks” to his brother Mark.
However, Thinner wasted two set points on Alkaraz’s serve when he led 6-5 in the first set, and Alkaraz jumped with a tiebreaker with two aces, sealing it before cruising in the second set.
At Alcaraz’s third match point, Sinner ran down a drop shot, but Alcaraz was waiting for a reply, attacking the stretch volley winner on the open court.
Alcaraz then stretched out his hand and gave a big smile.
Alcaraz hit 19 winners on Sinner’s Seven and had only one error that was not forced than his opponent 31-30. Half of the sinner’s mistakes came from his backhand. This is usually his most reliable shot.
Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz will return to second place in Monday’s rankings after his third final in three clay court events this season. He won the Monte Carlo Masters and finished runner-up at the Barcelona Open before withdrawing from the Madrid Open due to injury.
Alkaraz, who also won the Madrid Open in 2022 and 2023, became the fifth man to win all three Masters 1000 clay events after Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Cuerten and Marcelorios.
