Carlos Alcaraz has told media himself and Jannik Sinner “are not close friends,” but added there is respect between the rivals competing at the top of tennis currently.
Speaking after his dramatic China Open final victory over Sinner, live on Sky Sports Tennis, and ahead of the ATP 1000 Shanghai Masters, also live on Sky Sports, the 21-year-old Spaniard also again laid bare the difficulties players face in the present tennis scheduling.
Alcaraz, now ranked second in the world, has won all three of his meetings with Sinner this year, having also come out on top in semi-finals at Indian Wells and the French Open.
“Once we are on tour, travelling, at tournaments, on site, we are with our teams and on our own, so we [Alcaraz and Sinner] don’t speak too much,” he said.
Alcaraz has revealed he is ‘not close friends’ with Sinner, but that there is ‘respect’ in the rivalry
“But when we can, we talk a little bit besides tennis, about life. But not too much.
“It means we have a good relationship but we are not close friends.
“I think the respect we have puts us in a position that we have a really good relationship.”
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Alcaraz showed off his impressive athleticism with this backhand against Sinner in the China Open final
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Sinner produced a moment of brilliance with this impressive defence against Alcaraz in the China Open final
Of the exhilarating and draining three hours and 21 minutes China Open final, Alcaraz said:
“He could (have won) in two, I could win in two, he could win in three. It was a really close match.
“Jannik, once again, he showed that he’s the best player in the world, at least for me. The level that he’s playing, it’s unbelievable. It’s a really high quality of tennis. Of shots, physically, mentally, he’s a beast.”
The victory saw Alcaraz end Sinner’s winning streak at 15 matches and denied the Italian three straight titles after trophies in Cincinnati and at the US Open.
Sinner, who was the defending champion in Beijing, had to refocus after the World Anti-Doping Agency announced on Saturday it was appealing against a decision to clear him of wrongdoing following two positive steroid tests.
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Alcaraz heaped praise on Sinner but says he never lost hope after winning an epic China Open final
Alcaraz wasted a 5-2 lead in the first set and also let Sinner get back in the third after leading 4-2 before eventually edging it out after also falling behind 3-0 in the final-set tiebreaker.
“I’m not going to lie: 3-0 down, two mini-breaks for him, I didn’t lose hope but I thought: ‘Okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give me the opportunity to be close,'” Alcaraz said.
“I played great points just to make the 3-3 and after that I just think to go for it. If I lose it, at least I went for it.”
The battle between 23-year-old Sinner and 21-year-old Alcaraz looks set to be one for the ages
Alcaraz added he had no time to celebrate becoming the China Open champion due to the gruelling tennis schedule, rushing straight from the stadium to catch a flight to the ongoing Shanghai Masters.
“The tennis schedule is so, so tight, we’re travelling from tournament to tournament with just one or two days before the tournament begins, so it is difficult, but we have to get used to it,” the Spaniard said.
“I just did everything in a rush…we arrived here in Shanghai super late so I couldn’t sleep as much as I wanted”, adding it was 4am by the time he got to the eastern Chinese city.
Alcaraz will play his first match of the tournament on Saturday against Shang Juncheng, who became only the second player from China to win an ATP Tour singles title when he won the Chengdu Open last month.
What’s coming up on Sky Sports Tennis in October?
- Shanghai Masters – ATP 1000 (October 2-13)
- Wuhan Open – WTA 1000 (October 6-12 – Emma Raducanu in qualifying action)
- Almaty Open, Kazakhstan – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Stockholm Open, Sweden – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- European Open, Antwerp – ATP 250 (October 14-20)
- Japan Open, Osaka – WTA 250 (October 14-20)
- Ningbo Open, China – WTA 500 (October 14-20)
- Erste Bank Open, Vienna – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Swiss Indoors, Basel – ATP 500 (October 21-27)
- Guangzhou Open, China – WTA 250 (October 21-27)
- Toray Pan Pacific Open Tennis, Tokyo – WTA 500 (October 21-27)
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