Alcaraz punishes Sinner again to conquer Rome for the first time

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Jannik Sinner may be the best of the last year and a half, but for now, he's once again colliding with an antidote named Carlos Alcaraz , who's punishing him for the fourth consecutive time. And this is one of those that hurt because it's in a final, and in Rome, right on the doorstep of Paris. The Spaniard wins his first Masters 1000 at the Foro Italico with a superb display of mental toughness, restraint, and rigorous analysis of his opponent. A triumph that was brilliant for the way it was resolved and for what it means, even if it was far from the Spaniard's style. This time, his brilliance wasn't points for social media, but rather lessons in control that secured him his seventh Masters 1000 title, the 19th trophy of his career, his third in 2025, and strengthens his favoritism for Roland Garros.

It's the final everyone has been waiting for, and the popcorn is already being prepared the day before, but on the actual day itself, the duel between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is a display of control, restraint, and restraint that leaves the popcorn tasteless. There's so much at stake between these two at the Foro Italico that they struggle to let go, hence the crowd's attempts to get going with shouts of "Jannik, Jannik."

With such parallel paths that both players are starring in the 25th final of their careers this Sunday, and in a tournament where neither has previously triumphed, there is more probing, study, and respect than tennis throughout much of the first set. It's difficult to extract the long rallies, where the Murcian seems to have a bit more spark with those high balls that bother the Italian a bit, but the latter remains very firm with a first serve that is difficult to read, manage, and respond to. Thus, the San Cándido native thwarts an initial break attempt, which Alcaraz earns in the fifth game thanks to the solidity and concentration he has shown over the past two weeks.

They know each other so well that they know that any small mistake, any hint of a crack can derail the entire final, so there's little magic, although as the minutes and games pass, the two begin to loosen their grip after many minutes of restraint and control: the Spaniard's whipping forehand and drop shot, the Italian's backhand and lightning-fast serve. And there's a bit more tennis, but it's still very tense.

This is the eleventh meeting between the two, and Alcaraz has won the last three, becoming the antidote to this Sinner, who has maintained his imperial form over the last season and a half. Therefore, the San Cándido native is eager for revenge, and the El Palmar native is eager to confirm his superiority. They are eager to rise from the ashes left by the world number 1's doping ban, and eager to continue this successful clay-court tour for the world number 2. And both are eager to score a victory over their rival one week before Roland Garros, where they will only face each other in a hypothetical final.

Thus, even in errors (23 from the Italian, 22 from the Spaniard) and in love games won, the score remained tied until the end of the set, where the biggest surprise occurred given the tone of the match so far. It was Sinner who squeezed the Spaniard's first serve, which he couldn't quite stabilize, and achieved three break points. Another match begins in which the tension increases several degrees. Alcaraz holds all three, however, but it is a sign. For both of them.

At the hour mark, Alcaraz shouts with relief and anger when he grabs the tiebreak, because it couldn't be any other way between these two, as eight of their ten previous meetings had at least one tiebreak.

And after 59 minutes with a shaky first serve, after the scare, the Murcian served two aces to go 3-0 up. And it's the Italian who trembles a little more, unable to break through with his tennis and only managing five winners in an hour. It's barely a moment, a backhand that goes a bit wide and a ball that the Spaniard touches poorly, resulting in an unforced error on his part. It's a blessing for Alcaraz, who signs the best point of the match, the one most in line with what was expected, the one that has nothing to do with the rest of the match, just to capture the first set in his favor: good forehands (9 winners) to move his opponent, defense, a good backhand to come to the net, and a volley that Sinner can't reach. After an hour and 10 minutes of suffering, with a 56% first serve rate, for example, the strategy of containment, order, patience, and mental strength triumph over the Italian.

The order of one disrupts the other, which Sinner didn't expect to shake so much, and allows for gaps in concentration that Alcaraz magnifies this time, in a big way, in the Alcaraz way. He reaches everything, competes for everything, celebrates everything, everything comes out: drop shots, deep forehands, first serves, volleys. The most Alcaraz Alcaraz unleashed at the Foro Italico, now punishing his arch-enemy without remorse, blurred by those three break points he squandered at 6-5 and that tie-break that irrevocably marked the final from then on.

And that's what the Murcian commands, continuing and continuing and continuing. Unrestrained now, he's crushing the morale of his opponent, who shows no facial emotion, but his erratic, idea-free tennis speaks volumes. Wherever he tries, Alcaraz is unleashed, multiplying his game by a thousand in this second set, in which he increases his effectiveness with his serve and continues to win. While the first set lasted an hour and ten minutes, Alcaraz strung together five games in just 18.

A sentence that Sinner drags out a bit, so as not to leave a mess in his memory, but that Alcaraz doesn't allow to be even a brief start to a comeback. This serious, focused, hard-working, and self-possessed Alcaraz is superior in every way, and he lets the Italian know this, tipping him over with a deep forehand down the line and a drop shot and volley in an hour and 45 minutes.

Sinner has returned from his doping ban, but he takes a more painful punishment from the final, inflicted by Carlos Alcaraz, champion in Rome and the clear favorite for Roland Garros after starting with a title in Monte Carlo, a final in Barcelona, ​​an injury in Madrid, and a title at the Foro Italico. A spectacular clay court tour to enter Paris with a bang.

"I'm very happy, my first title in Rome, I hope it's not the last. First, I have to say I'm very happy to see Sinner. It wasn't easy. Seeing him here in the final after a three-month suspension is incredible. Congratulations to him for a great week and a great tournament. And I'm proud of the way I played and how I approached the match mentally and tactically. From the first point. I had no lapses or ups and downs; I stayed at the same level the whole time, and I'm very proud of that. All eyes are on Paris now. Beating Jannik and winning in Rome both give you confidence heading into Paris. Now I'm going to enjoy the moment and then have a few days off to reflect on what we've achieved, which will help us at Roland Garros. It's been difficult with the injury. This tournament is very special; we've all been very united, working hard to recover from the injury, and I'm very happy to win it and very confident heading into Paris," commented the Murcia native.