While commenting on Jannik Sinner’s return to the Tour, Carlos Alcaraz previously claimed that he “needs” the Italian playing competitively to “push him” to improve. He believes Sinners pushes him to become a better player and give 100% every day. Talking about giving 100%, well, Alcaraz recently left no stone unturned to snap Sinner’s 26-match winning streak. With his 7-6(5),6-1 win over the world number one, the Spaniard has now secured his fourth consecutive victory over Sinner. His win-loss record against him is now 7-4! What has been the real secret behind his recent success against Sinner? Well, American tennis legend Andy Roddick recently shared his thoughts on what makes Carlitos so different from any other opponent against Sinner…
Previously, Carlos Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from the Masters 1000 in Madrid due to an adductor injury. So, he needed this win to gain some confidence ahead of his title defense mission at the Roland Garros. Previously, while sharing his thoughts about Alcaraz ahead of this grand finale, Roddick claimed, “Carlos is a genius finding a way to hit behind his opponent…” He even hailed him as the “most well-equipped person on earth” to deal with Jannik Sinner. Now, after this epic final in Rome, both Jim Courier and Andy Roddick were asked to share their thoughts on this match.
Speaking to Tennis Channel, Courier said, “An important match for both of them. Both of them leave Rome really great about their chances at Roland Garros. Alcaraz continues his run at 4-0 against Sinner, which no one else is able to come close to.” He believes this performance will give Carlos Alcaraz an extra boost ahead of the French Open. Moreover, while sharing his thoughts on his secret to success against Sinner, Courier said, “Alcaraz can keep Sinner offbeat…Alcaraz does something that no other player in the tennis world dares to do. He comes in with a low percentage of shots to Sinner’s forehand, and he’s just good enough at the net to pull off these acrobatic shots.”
Whatever Sinner puts on the table, Alcaraz loves to match it! Does Andy Roddick agree with this? According to Roddick, “Weirdly all the options that Alcaraz has sometimes get him in trouble, which aren’t Jannik Sinner. There are almost like too many options and which do I deploy today, whereas when he is playing Sinner, he knows that he has to use those fadeaway backhands he was using. Even though Sinner stepped in and knocked a couple off it was there the next time. What that does is it opens up the backhand line, opens up the drop shots, and opens up all of these different elements, so he is in full flight and has no guilt about trying crazy stuff because you kind of have to against Jannik Sinner.“
Moreover, he added, “The other thing that Carlos has, which most players don’t have against Jannik Sinner, is picture-perfect preparation and technique. He can take a ball which is heavy, where Sinner is leaning on it, and create speed off of that because his technique and preparation, and footwork are the way you would teach anyone, really.”
Speaking about his incredible rivalry in men’s tennis, in January 2025, Andy Roddick said that the situation is quite clear: hard courts are Jannik Sinner’s territory, but everything that is not hard has been Carlos Alcaraz’s territory. Last year, Jannik Sinner clinched the AO and the US Open, while Alcaraz got hold of the other two major events. This year, the Italian already had a success in Melbourne, is it now turn for Alcaraz to step up in Paris? Time will tell!
But this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen Roddick showcasing his admiration for the Spaniard. For example, in September 2022, when Carlitos won the US Open title, the 2003 US Open champion hailed him through a tweet saying, “The future is here. What a pleasure it’s been to see @carlosalcaraz improve so quickly. Youngest number one in the history of our game. Was lucky to meet him during the last two weeks. As mature/nice off the court as he is dynamic on it. Cheers to the first of many majors Carlitos.”
He believes Alcaraz is someone who doesn’t let you take your eyes off him. Roddick has also mentioned previously how Carlos Alcaraz has this unique ability to pull masses. Talking about pulling masses, well, although Sinner pulled a lot of fans to attend the final in Rome, Alcaraz spoiled their party on Sunday. What were the reactions of both these tennis stars after this grand finale?
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner share their thoughts on the 2025 Italian Open final
Carlos Alcaraz started his season pretty well, reaching the QF of the AO and then clinching the title in Rotterdam. But after that, he failed to win any title in Doha and the ‘Sunshine Doubles’. With these ups and downs in his performance levels, there were a few question marks raised on his consistency, but he managed to silence them all with the title triumph in Monte Carlo. Although he failed to beat Holger Rune in the final of the Barcelona Open and missed out on the chance in Madrid due to his withdrawal, Alcaraz has yet again proved his class in Rome.
After clinching his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title, Alcaraz said, “Just proud about myself, the way that I approached the match mentally. Tactically think I did it pretty well from the first to the last point. I maintained my level during the whole match. Beating Jannik, winning Rome. I think both things mixed together give you a great confidence coming to Paris. I always say that the final is not about playing, the final is about winning, to go for it. I just repeated [that to] myself all the time.“
On the other hand, his opponent, Jannik Sinner, hailed him as the “best player” on clay right now. This was Sinner’s first tournament since his return after serving the three-month suspension due to the doping incident. What was his reaction after failing to clinch the title on his home soil after coming inches closer to this historic feat? “[The] first set for sure was a little bit of a game-changer. But talking generally, [I am] very happy about this tournament. It gives me hopefully the confidence to play some good tennis also in Paris. Let’s see what’s coming out there.” Both these tennis stars will now set their eyes on the second Grand Slam tournament of the 2025 season. Who do you think has a greater chance of winning the title this year?
The post Hailing Carlos Alcaraz’s Unique Edge Over Jannik Sinner, Andy Roddick Reveals Spaniard’s Secret Weapon appeared first on EssentiallySports.