Sinner picks up where he left off as Alcaraz's main rival at French Open
PARIS, May 22 (Reuters) - Jannik Sinner's dazzling winning streak ground to a halt ahead of the French Open but the world number one's top-notch return from a three-month doping ban suggests he will be the main challenger to Carlos Alcaraz in Paris.
The 23-year-old had won 26 straight matches before losing 7-6(5) 6-1 to Alcaraz in the Italian Open final on Sunday.
The defeat also ended a streak of 94 consecutive matches in which he had won at least one set — a run dating back to 2023 when he was beaten by Novak Djokovic at the ATP Finals.
Sinner agreed a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency in February and began an immediate three-month suspension after authorities accepted that the anabolic agent clostebol had entered his system via massages from his physiotherapist.
The three-times Grand Slam champion had not played since winning the Australian Open in January and he viewed the Italian Open as a chance to rebuild his momentum ahead of Roland Garros.
Despite failing to get his hands on the trophy, the Italian left Rome with encouraging signs ahead of the claycourt Grand Slam.
He battled through foot pain during the tournament, managing tight wins over Francisco Cerundolo and Tommy Paul, and showed glimpses of the aggressive baseline game and superb returning that have lifted him to the top of the rankings.
"It was a great week for me in many ways,' Sinner told reporters in Rome. 'I am closer than expected to my best tennis after a little time away, and I've found good sensations on clay.'
Alcaraz's victory in Rome gave the Spaniard two elite clay titles this spring following his triumph in Monte Carlo, and the rivalry between the young guns has become the most compelling in men's tennis.
Alcaraz leads their head-to-head meetings 7-4 and it would be no surprise if the pair were battling in the Paris final.
Sinner's improved physical conditioning has been one of the key factors in his rise, though the lingering foot blister he battled in Rome raised questions about his durability over a gruelling best-of-five format.
Yet the Italian remains optimistic.
'Surely I will beat you in Paris,' he joked to Alcaraz during the trophy ceremony in Rome, setting the stage for another potential showdown on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
37 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Jannik Sinner shows Jack Draper how it's done with a dominant straight-set victory over Alexander Bublik... days after the Kazakh dumped the British No 1 out at Roland Garros
Jannik Sinner did what Jack Draper could not, surviving Alexander Bublik's trial by drop shot to reach the semi-finals of the French Open. It was always a tall order for Bublik to strike lightning in a bottle twice in three days, after his combination of brutal power and deft touch took out the British No1. World No1 Sinner was utterly relentless, winning 6-1, 7-5, 6-0. His superior movement and extraordinary ability to take the ball consistently on the half-volley allowed him to play much closer to the baseline than Draper - and therefore be far less vulnerable to the drop shot. Bublik brought some of his sorcery to bear in the second set but he was never in this match. He had such belief against Draper he could get the win; it never felt like he had the same confidence here. 'He's in another dimension with all the aspects of the game,' said the 27-year-old of Sinner. 'He's playing fast. He's playing smart. Physically he's at a top level. So it's not easy.' Sinner was awaiting the winner of last night's blockbuster quarter-final between Novak Djokovic and last year's runner-up Alexander Zverev. Having missed three months with his anti-doping ban, the 23-year-old Italian has still lost only one match this year, to Carlos Alcaraz in the Rome final last month. The smart money remains on those two meeting again in Paris on Sunday.
BBC News
2 hours ago
- BBC News
USA to face international players in NBA All-Star game
Next year's NBA All-Star game will feature "some form" of a USA team against the rest of the game will take place on 16 February during the 2026 Winter Olympics, which are being broadcast in the United States by has regained the rights to show the NBA All-Star game in the US, which will be switched to an afternoon start, with Winter Olympic events being broadcast before and after."So what better time to feature some form of USA against the world?" said NBA commissioner Adam Silver on to Fox Sports, Silver said he "paid a lot of attention to what the NHL did" in February, hosting the 4 Nations Face-Off instead of an All-Star seven-game tournament featured only NHL players representing the USA, Canada, Finland and Sweden, and Silver noted it was "a huge success". He said the same about the men's basketball competition at last summer's Paris Olympics as although Team USA won a fifth straight gold, that was only after hard-fought games with Serbia and hosts in the NBA's All-Star game has dropped in recent years and even a change to the format for this year's game failed to stop the having four teams playing a three-game mini-tournament, viewership dropped by 13% from 2024 to the second-lowest TV audience in 25 years. There was a Global Stars team but introducing more of an international element from next year had been suggested, especially with so many international players now in the the past seven years, the league's Most Valuable Player has not been American - although Joel Embiid has since chosen to represent USA rather than Cameroon or France - and for the past two years the first overall draft pick has been from France.
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Jannik Sinner storms past Alexander Bublik to reach French Open semi-finals
Half an hour into his first appearance in a grand slam quarter-final, Alexander Bublik pumped his fist to the sky and smiled widely. The source of the 27-year-old's joy, however, was not a blazing start to the biggest match of his career or the hope that he could take his run even further. He had simply won his first game. After the jubilation of breaking new ground in Paris, Bublik's fairytale came to a harsh end as he was picked apart by Jannik Sinner, the world No 1, who continued his march through the French Open draw with another relentless performance and a 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 win. Five matches into his tournament, Sinner is still to drop a set. He has now won his past 19 matches at grand slam tournaments after his consecutive triumphs at the US Open and Australian Open. Sinner has also won 46 of his past 48 matches in all competitions. 'I'm just happy to be in the semis and see what I can do,' the Italian said. 'Last year I played a good match in the semis, so I'm proud to be again here. I wouldn't have thought to be here in this position since my comeback, so I'm very happy to take things like they are, and hopefully I'm ready. I just want to watch my side of the net, and then we see.' Following Lorenzo Musetti's quarter-final win against Frances Tiafoe on Tuesday, this tournament also represents the first time in the open era that two Italian men reached the semi-finals of the same grand slam event and the second time in history after Nicola Pietrangeli and Orlando Sirola reached the French Open semi-finals in 1960. The French Open is Sinner's second tournament since returning from his three-month doping ban. He reached the final of his first tournament back on home soil at the Italian Open. The confidence he gained in Rome has allowed him to take his game to another level in Paris, where he is attempting to win his first major title away from hard courts. 'It's not easy,' Bublik said. 'He's playing fast. He's playing smart. He's basically playing every match under two hours, so physically he's very at a top level, so it's not easy, as you can see. It's not only me who got bageled. I wish him all the luck. He deserves to be where he is. We are all going to wait for the final we all wanted.' Sinner has torn through his section of the draw in Paris, demolishing all opposition. In the third round, Jiri Lehecka similarly found himself celebrating a single game after trailing 6-0, 5-0. In round four, despite his tendency to lose his composure when things are not going his way, Andrey Rublev could only smile and accept his defeat to a superior player. Two days after Bublik upset the fifth seed Jack Draper with a spectacular performance, he was brushed aside by the Italian. 'That's a very positive week, but every fairytale comes to an end,' Bublik said. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion Sinner also reflected on the emergence of Loïs Boisson, the French wildcard who defeated the sixth seed Mirra Andreeva earlier on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals at the French Open in her first grand slam appearance. Sinner and Boisson warmed up together on Court Philippe Chatrier in the morning before their matches. Sinner noted that they both used to train at the Piatti Tennis Academy where they would sometimes practice together. 'I saw her before the tournament in the gym in [stadium] Jean Bouin,' said Sinner. 'We talked a little bit about how things are, and she was very happy. Having a wildcard here, it's a special tournament for her, being French. I think the level she produces is amazing, no? Very consistent. Very clay-court style, with the forehand, a lot of topspin. 'Today it was raining, so I called the [practice] desk [to see] if there was some free spot, because I don't want to risk going on court without warming up. So we arrived here quite early. She said straightaway yes, and we hit some balls. It was a very consistent warm-up for a different game style for a woman, because the ball is quite high and quite spinny. Physically very strong. She deserves to be in the position where she is right now, and we wish her all the best for the future.'
