Alcaraz looking forward to “the match everybody wants to see” against Sinner
Carlos Alcaraz is looking forward to the seventh instalment of his rivalry against Jannik Sinner at the China Open this Tuesday
Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, 2023 | © AI / Reuters / Panoramic
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz saw off a stern test from Norway’s Casper Ruud at the China Open in Beijing on Monday, winning 6-4, 6-2 to book a semi-final rematch with world No 7 Jannik Sinner.
In Alcaraz’s own words, a semi-final against Sinner is the match everybody wants to see, and the Spaniard himself is exciting for the challenge of writing the next chapter in the pair’s fascinating head-to-head.
“I think that match is the match that everybody wants to see, my match against Jannik. It’s going to be a really tough semifinal,” the Spaniard declared.
Alcaraz v Sinner: One of the most exciting rivalries on the ATP Tour
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have met six times already in their short professional careers. Here’s how those meeting have unfolded so far:
- 2021 ATP Masters 1000 Paris—Carlos Alcaraz won 7-6 (1), 7-5
- 2022 Wimbledon—Jannik Sinner won 6-1, 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3
- 2022 Umag—Jannik Sinner won 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-1
- 2022 US Open—Carlos Alcaraz won 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-7 (0), 7-5, 6-3
- 2023 ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells—Carlos Alcaraz won 7-6 (4), 6-3
- 2023 ATP Masters 1000 Miami—Jannik Sinner won 6-7 (4), 6-4, 6-2
For those who need a little help interpreting these six results, in a word, the Alcaraz v Sinner rivalry has been CLOSE. Half of their meetings have gone the distance to either three or five sets. Of the 19 sets they’ve played, seven sets have gone to tiebreakers—at least one in every match across their rivalry. No player has won more than two matches in a row against the other.
Their last three meetings have been particularly special. At the 2022 US Open, they played one of the matches of the tournament, breaking the record for the latest ever finish at the event as their five-set epic concluded at 2:50am.
Most recently, they played a duo of brilliant matches in the Sunshine Double, with the honours shared across the two encounters.
What will the fast Beijing surface hold for the seventh instalment of Alcaraz v Sinner?
Part of what makes this rivalry so fascinating, is Jannik Sinner’s ability to take time away from Carlos Alcaraz. By striking the ball hard and early, Sinner has consistently found reward by rushing Alcaraz. On the fast surface in Beijing, chances are this will aid the Italian.
This fact has likely not escaped the top seed, however, Alcaraz is still as excited as ever to sink his teeth into the pair’s next match, saying:
“We’ve played great, great matches in big situations. Every time that we face each other has been a really high quality of tennis. The level that we play, we put on the court, is amazing. I think everybody enjoyed these matches.”
The Spaniard shared with the Beijing media that his recently win over Casper Ruud helped him build a lot of confidence in his game, which was looking more vulnerable than usual after a quiet North American summer.
“I have a lot of confidence right now honestly. Be able to win these kind of matches the way I did give you an extra confidence in your game coming into the next matches,” Alcaraz said.
“Obviously has been really tough match that I had to find solutions. At the beginning of the match, I had to increase my level a little bit. But has been a really good battles, good rallies, high quality of tennis.”
The winner of Alcaraz and Sinner will face either Alexander Zverev or Daniil Medvedev in the China Open final, with those two playing for the 17th time in the other semi-final on Tuesday.
