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RNZ News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- RNZ News
No mercy for Sinner as Alcaraz storms to Italian Open title
Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 Italian Open. Photo: PHOTOSPORT Carlos Alcaraz had little trouble dismantling Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final, sealing a 7-6(5) 6-1 victory to snap the world number one's 26-match winning streak and break the hearts of the home crowd on Sunday. Alcaraz edged a tense opening set in a tiebreaker after he and Sinner traded blows from the baseline on a warm evening in front of a packed Centre Court crowd. However, from the second set onwards, Alcaraz silenced the home crowd as he completely outplayed Sinner, cruising to victory in their first-ever clash in a Masters 1000 final. "I'm proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally. Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one," Alcaraz said in an on-court interview. "I'm just really happy to get my first Rome (title), hopefully it's not going to be the last one." For Sinner, it was particularly disappointing that he could not make it a double celebration for Italy after compatriot Jasmine Paolini won the women's title a day earlier. Sinner was playing his first tournament since winning the Australian Open in January and was hoping to become the first Italian man to triumph in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976, but he had to settle for second best. Sinner, who was making his comeback this week after serving a three-month doping ban, thanked his family for their support. "After three months coming here making this result means a lot to me, a lot to my team also. We worked a lot to be here. Happy also with my family and everything," he said. "A special thank you to my brother, who, rather than being here, is in Imola to watch Formula 1," he concluded to the laughter of the crowd. The Spaniard Alcaraz has now beaten Sinner in their last four meetings, firing a warning shot to his rivals ahead of the upcoming French Open where he is set to defend his title. "Beating Jannik, winning Rome. Both things mix together and give (me) great confidence going to Paris," Alcaraz said. Qualifying for the French Open is this week with the main draw starting on 25 May. - Reuters
Yahoo
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alcaraz ends Sinner's streak to win Italian Open
Carlos Alcaraz ended world number one Jannik Sinner's 26-match winning streak with a 7-6 6-1 win in the Italian Open final. Sinner, playing in his first tournament since a three-month doping ban, was hoping to become the first Italian men's singles winner at the tournament since Adriano Panatta in 1976. But after edging a tense tie-break, four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz was a class above in the second set, needing just 33 minutes to wrap up the title. Sinner had two set points in the first set but hit a backhand return wide to let defending French Open champion Alcaraz off the hook. The 22-year-old Spaniard took full advantage with some masterful play in the second set, sealing the title with a cross-court volley at the net. "I'm just really happy to get my first Rome [title], hopefully it's not going to be the last one," said Alcaraz. "The first thing I want to say is that I'm just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level. "I'm sure it wasn't easy for him coming back after three months and making the final is something insane, so I have to congratulate him. "I'm proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally. Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one." Sinner's winning run stretched back to October - when Alcaraz beat him in the China Open final. Live scores, results and order of play Get tennis news sent straight to your phone
The Independent
18-05-2025
- Sport
- The Independent
Carlos Alcaraz beats home-favourite Jannik Sinner again to win Italian Open
Carlos Alcaraz defeated top-ranked Jannik Sinner 7-6 (5), 6-1 to win his first Italian Open on Sunday and add another big clay-court title to his resume. Since the start of last year, Alcaraz is the only player to beat Sinner more than once and now he's done it four straight times. Alcaraz's victory before Sinner's home fans at the Foro Italico snapped the Italian's 26-match winning streak, which stretched back to October — when Alcaraz beat him in the China Open final in a third-set tiebreaker. Alcaraz now leads the career series 7-4. Alcaraz also solidified his status as the favourite to defend his title at the French Open, which starts next Sunday. Sinner was playing his first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January, returning from a three-month doping ban. In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised questions, since the suspension allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams, and come back at his home tournament. Sinner was attempting to become the first home man to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976. He was also trying to complete a sweep of the Rome singles titles for Italy after Jasmine Paolini won the women's trophy on Saturday. Paolini and partner Sara Errani also defended their women's doubles title earlier Sunday, making Paolini the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to sweep Rome's singles and doubles titles in the same year. A large number of the 10,500 fans in Campo Centrale were decked out in orange — Sinner's theme color — and they were chanting Sinner's name before the match even began. But Sinner wasted two set points on Alcaraz's serve when he led 6-5 in the first set and then Alcaraz jumped ahead in the tiebreaker with two aces and held on to seal it before cruising in the second set. Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will move back up to No 2 in the rankings on Monday after his third final in three clay-court events this season. He won the Monte Carlo Masters and finished runner-up in the Barcelona Open before withdrawing from the Madrid Open because of injury. Having also won the Madrid Open in 2022 and 2023, Alcaraz became the fifth man to win all three Masters 1000 clay events after Rafael Nadal Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Kuerten and Marcelo Rios.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Alcaraz ends Sinner's streak to win Italian Open
Carlos Alcaraz ended world number one Jannik Sinner's 26-match winning streak with a 7-6 6-1 win in the Italian Open playing in his first tournament since a three-month doping ban, was hoping to become the first Italian men's singles winner at the tournament since Adriano Panatta in after edging a tense tie-break, four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz was a class above in the second set, needing just 33 minutes to wrap up the had two set points in the first set but hit a backhand return wide to let defending French Open champion Alcaraz off the 22-year-old Spaniard took full advantage with some masterful play in the second set, sealing the title with a cross-court volley at the net."I'm just really happy to get my first Rome [title], hopefully it's not going to be the last one," said Alcaraz."The first thing I want to say is that I'm just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level."I'm sure it wasn't easy for him coming back after three months and making the final is something insane, so I have to congratulate him."I'm proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally. Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one."Sinner's winning run stretched back to October - when Alcaraz beat him in the China Open final.
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sinner and Paolini ready to crown golden age of Italian tennis in Rome
Jannik Sinner and Jasmine Paolini have given Italian fans a local hero to cheer for in both singles finals at the Italian Open (Filippo MONTEFORTE) The Foro Italico (Italian Forum) has lived up to its name this past week as Jannik Sinner and Jasmine Paolini have given home fans a local hero to cheer for in both singles finals at the Italian Open. Sinner can end a near five-decade wait for an Italian winner of the men's tournament in Rome, with Adriano Panatta way back in 1976 the last man to claim the title for a home player. Advertisement The world number one takes on rival Carlos Alcaraz in a blockbuster final for tennis fans who have watched Sinner return from his three-month doping ban for testing positive twice in March last year for traces of clostebol, a contamination doping authorities accept was accidental. The 23-year-old was the first Italian to win a Grand Slam tournament since Panatta, again since 1976, when he won the Australian Open in January 2024. He then became the first of his compatriots to claim top spot in the world rankings in June, and then the first to win the year-ending ATP Finals, claiming glory in Turin. But Sinner, already a winner of 19 titles including three Grand Slams, is not alone at the top of the game as attested by Italy winning both the Davis Cup and, led by Wimbledon and Roland Garros finalist Paolini, the Billie Jean King Cup in 2024. Advertisement Italian men have won 31 ATP titles since the start of 2016, compared to just eight in the previous decade. Lorenzo Musetti made his debut in the top 10 of the world rankings this week after reaching the Monte Carlo final last month and going deep in other tournaments, including a run to the semi-finals in Rome. Nine Italian, including Luciano Darderi and Flavio Cobolli -- winners in Marrakech and Bucharest in the same week in March -- are in the men's top 100. Only the USA and France have more with 10 each. - Fifteen years in the making - At the start of the century the best Italian man was Andrea Gaudenzi at 54th in the world, who is the current president of the ATP, while the Italian men's team played in the third tier of the Davis Cup. Advertisement Italian tennis' revival began among its women, with four Fed Cup wins between 2006 and 2013, Francesco Schiavone's French Open title in 2010 and Flavia Pennetta's at the US Open five years later. And Paolini is gunning for her first 100 series trophy against former US Open champion Coco Gauff on Saturday evening, the first in Rome for an Italian woman since Raffaella Reggi in 1985. But after some good showing from Fabio Fognini who became the first Italian to win a Masters 1000 tournament, at Monte Carlo in 2019, men's tennis upped its game with the arrival of 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini and Sinner. "It's the result of 15 years of good work within the federation (FITP), starting from the clubs up to the top level and with a lot of international tournament in all ages groups," said Spanish former world number seven Emilio Sanchez, now a coach. Advertisement "They've decentralised the organisation of their youth structure. Before everyone had to go through a national training centre and be taken away from their home environment. Now the federation goes to the players, and funds them." Filippo Volandri, the head of top-level men's tennis training for the FITP, says that the decentralisation, a wide network of coaches and access from a young age to both physical and mental trainers, allows "all young players to express their potential. "That's the big difference between what we did before, when we saw that Italian players matured late or never reached their full potential," said Volandri. The FITP, headed since 2001 by Angelo Binaghi, has also implemented a plan to build hard courts in a clay-court dominated country, a move which has also been accompanied by a change in playing style and training. Advertisement "We prioritise tactics over technique, and to serves and returns ahead of repetitive coaching of forehand or backhand strokes," Michelangelo Dell'Edera, the director of the FITP's Higher Training Institute, told AFP. jr/chc/td/ea
