Carlos Alcaraz beats Jannik Sinner again to win Italian Open - ESPN
ROME — There's only one player who is consistently beating Jannik Sinner.
Carlos Alcaraz defeated the top-ranked player again, beating Sinner 7-6 (5), 6-1 to win his first Italian Open on Sunday and add another big clay-court title to his résumé.
Since the start of last year, Alcaraz is the only player to beat Sinner more than once, and now he has done it four straight times.
«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,» Alcaraz said. «I maintained my level during the whole match.»
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.
It was Sinner's first tournament back after a three-month doping ban.
«I'm just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level,» Alcaraz said. «I'm sure it wasn't easy for him coming back from three months without playing. Making the final here is something insane.»
Alcaraz also solidified his status as the favorite 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.
In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that raised questions, since the three-month suspension allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams and come back at his home tournament.
Sinner said he and his team went through «three months that were anything but easy, so achieving this result already here is really big» and that «we should be really proud.»
He added: