Sinner makes surprising confession after battle with Alcaraz in Riyadh

The Italian claimed his first win of the year over Alcaraz on Saturday

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner at the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells || 260588_0129

(Antoine Couvercelle / Panoramic)

October 20, 2024

World No 1 Jannik Sinner has confessed that Carlos Alcaraz is one of his main motivators to get out of bed each day and improve himself as a tennis player.

After winning the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh on Saturday night, the Italian shared just how central the rivalry is to his career.

“I wake up in the morning trying to understand the ways how to beat him,” he said after defeating the Spaniard 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3 to win the largest-ever purse in tennis history.

“It’s these kinds of rivalries – these kinds of players – that push us always to our 100 percent limits.”

Alcaraz echoed Sinner’s sentiment in his post-match comments, after the pair shared several viral moments in the trophy ceremony – one where Alcaraz helped Sinner get in line for the perfect photo, and another where Sinner fixed Alcaraz’s hair.

“Thanks to him [Sinner] I push myself to the limit,” he said. “I give my 100 percent every day to be a better player. It’s a pleasure every time I share the court with him. Sometimes it’s tough to find the joy. But it’s great every time I face him.”

When asked whether he enjoys playing Alcaraz, or if it’s stressful, Sinner responded that “it’s a mix of everything”.

“As Carlos said, we try to push ourselves to the limits. Obviously, I’m very happy about this today. I think the reason why we came here was to show to all of you what tennis is about, giving a show. It can be long at times, like today, but we try our best.

“Until now every match was very, very good, level wise. Hopefully this rivalry will last as long as possible, but there are so many other players who can jump in and this is also so exciting.

“Let’s see what is coming in the future, no one can tell.”

The 23-year-old gave a candid assessment of the pair’s friendship as well.

“We understand each other very well, we travel a lot. We are, I would say, good friends, not obviously the best out of the best. We also like to share every time when we go on the court, we try to enjoy.”