Carlos Alcaraz sends strong message to Jannik Sinner ahead of Cincinnati Open showdown
The Spanish star opens up about chasing No. 1, bouncing back from Wimbledon, and embracing his rivalry with Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz is back in action this Sunday in Cincinnati, looking to bounce back after a brief break and with his eyes firmly set on finishing the year as the world’s top-ranked player.
The 22-year-old Spaniard skipped the Toronto Masters due to “minor muscle discomfort” but is feeling healthy and motivated heading into the Western & Southern Open. He’ll face either Italy’s Mattia Bellucci or Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur in his opening match — a chance to score valuable ranking points after an early exit from the tournament last year, when he fell in the first round to Gaël Monfils.
That slip cost him dearly, and with the ATP race heating up, Alcaraz knows what’s at stake. Since losing the Wimbledon final to Jannik Sinner — a setback he says took him “hours, not even days” to get over — Alcaraz has been laser-focused on two things: reclaiming the No. 1 spot, and doing it his own way.
“I’m really happy with everything I’ve done so far, and I want to keep going like this,” Alcaraz told reporters after a training session with Casper Ruud, which was briefly interrupted by Jessica Pegula, who had a court reservation. The Spaniard cheerfully shifted to another court to finish his session.
“There are a lot of things I’ve tried to add to my game to improve during matches,” he continued. “But my main goal remains the same: to be happy, to enjoy myself on and off the court, playing the best tournaments in the world. And obviously, to get back to No. 1 by the end of the year.”
Chasing Sinner, but closing fast
Right now, Sinner holds a commanding lead in the rankings — 3,430 points ahead — but Alcaraz has the edge in the season-long “Race to Turin” standings, where he leads the Italian by 1,540 points.
The math favors Alcaraz in the months ahead. Sinner is defending a hefty haul: 1,000 points from his Cincinnati title last year, plus 2,000 from his U.S. Open win and another 1,000 from Shanghai. Alcaraz, by contrast, has just 10 points to defend in Cincinnati and 860 total before the ATP Finals, giving him a real shot at closing the gap.
A rivalry with history in the making
Alcaraz says he’s embracing the growing rivalry with Sinner, seeing it as a defining storyline for the future of the sport.
“I’m really happy to be part of a rivalry like this with Jannik,” he said. “I think we’ve both done big things in tennis in a very short amount of time. I’ll let other people talk about what this rivalry means or what it could mean for tennis history. We’ve got long careers ahead of us to see how far we can take this.”
Cincinnati could give Alcaraz the chance to begin writing the next chapter — and perhaps get a bit of revenge for that loss on Centre Court. But whether it’s about rankings, rivalries, or personal growth, he’s approaching it all with his trademark perspective:
“Even though I lost [at Wimbledon], I left the court feeling proud and happy with everything I did.”
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