Sinner is back and immediately reaches the final in Rome – he takes it against Alcaraz

It could have been a perfect end of a week that was already quite successful for Italian tennis. After Jasmine Paolini had become the first Italian winner in forty years from the WTA1000 tournament in Rome on Saturday, and then won the women’s doubles with Sara Errani, Jannik Sinner could have completed the fairy tale this Sunday. The number 1 in the world, however, had to do it in two sets (7-6, 6-1) against his greatest rival, Carlos Alcaraz.

That this dream final would become reality was far from self -evident. Alcaraz should have canceled the Madrid tournament in April for an injury, and Sinner played his first tournament in his home country after a three -month suspension. The Italian had one settlement With anti -doping authority Wada, after twice very small quantities of the forbidden agent Clostebol were found in his blood.

That it is a big task to reach a grand finale immediately without any competition rhythm was also evident from the words with which Alcaraz started his interview on the track. « First of all, I am very happy to see Jannik again at this great level, » said the Spaniard. « It should not have been easy not to play for three months. To reach the final at the first tournament he played again is quite insane. »

They were words full of awe and respect for his great rival. Ten times before the two played against each other, and most encounters resulted in a long, exciting battle. The last three games went to the Spaniard. The only time that the two came across each other before this final was last year, in the semi -final of Roland Garros. After five sets and four o’clock that match also went to Alcaraz, who then The tournament won.

Stabity against unpredict bay

What makes their rivalry even more attractive is the contrast between the two players. On the one hand you have the introverted, silent Italian, on the other hand the extrovert, pronounced Spaniard. Stability and calm about intensity and unpredictability. Control and a cool head opposite a big grin and the ‘Vamos!’ Sinners Very strong service and hard blows from the back of the field opposite the dangerous dropshots and the explosiveness of Alcaraz. The combination delivers exciting, intriguing tennis every time.

The first set was as exciting as was expected. Both players had to find their concentration and to get rid of the nerves. Many unnecessary mistakes were made, both had difficulty retaining their service. Yet it was an entertaining set to look at. The tension was high and the players were matched. Both were only confronted with break chances in one service game, but managed to keep their heads cool and ward off the attack.

The missed opportunities ended up in Sinner. After he left it at 6-5 to win the set – he got a set point twice – it went to the Spaniard in the tiebreak. In the second set he was immediately broken fairly easily. The Italian struck only two winners in the entire second set and soon had to endure a second break. Mentally the blow of the missed opportunities seemed too big to him.

No roller coaster

Alcaraz ‘level remained high unabated. The young Spaniard is known to be able to get rid of attention, which can bring him into difficult situations. He managed to prevent that this time. Afterwards he expressed his joy about it: « I didn’t let it be a roller coaster this time. »

Despite the defeat and the bad second set – 6-1 for Alacaraz – the number 1 in the world can look back positively on this week. If the level at the first tournament is so high after three months without competition rhythm, it can probably only get better.

After the lost match, Sinner said that he « never expected » to reach this final. A week before the start of Roland Garros, he already determined his next mission. In Paris, he said, « is Alcaraz the man to beat« .

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