Sinner, on the defeat against Alcaraz: “It’s part of my growth process” | ATP Tour

Roland Garros

Sinner, on the defeat against Alcaraz: “It’s part of my growth process”

The Italian lost to Alcaraz in five sets.

June 07, 2024

Despite his obvious disappointment, Jannik Sinner takes the positives from his time at Roland Garros, which ended at the hands of his friend and rival Carlos Alcaraz in the semifinals on Friday.

The 22-year-old Italian beat the Spaniard by two sets to one before finally falling in five sets in a match that lasted four hours and 10 minutes.

“I think it was a great match. I’m sure that in the sets that Carlos has won he has played better on the important points. I think that was the key. Obviously, I was disappointed with how it ended, but it is part of my growth and the process” Sinner said. “Thinking before the tournament about getting to this point, I’m obviously very happy.”

“On the other hand, I’m disappointed by today’s match. Now I just have to keep looking forward to improve, to try to do the best I can and then we’ll see what I can do in the future here in this tournament. If we look at the positive side, I have improved compared to last year.

Sinner, who will rise to No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday, was playing in the semifinals for the first time at Roland Garros. The Australian Open champion dropped just one set on his way to the semi-finals before falling to Alcaraz, who improved to 5-4 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Their rivalry is one of the most exciting on the circuit, and their duel on Friday is one of the most anticipated of the year. Sinner expects more heavyweight clashes with Alcaraz in the future.

“If you look at the results, the most likely thing is that we will always face each other in the semifinals, in the final or in the quarterfinals, in very important matches. I think that is exciting for the game, especially when the head to head is quite close. ” Sinner said. “The winner gets happy and the loser tries to find a way to beat him next time. I think that’s exciting. That’s what I’ll try to do.”

“I think we study each other very well. Sometimes you notice a little tension in both players and on both sides, because little by little we know each other a little better. Every time we play against [el otro] we wait for a couple of things and then to mix up the plan, you make different decisions sometimes on the court. “I think next time it’s obviously going to be different.”

Sinner arrived at Roland Garros after missing Rome due to a hip injury. The 13-time tour champion looked comfortable in his first five matches, but suffered cramps during the third set against Alcaraz.

“Some tension for sure. Tension and then a little cramping,” Sinner said of his problems on the court. “Now I handle these situations a little better. I had these kinds of moments in previous years where I couldn’t handle them. If you look at it, I handled them a little better. It was at the beginning of the game. We didn’t play that much, so I wasn’t worried for my body. I was holding up pretty well.

Sinner leaves Paris with a 33-3 record on the season. His next appointment will be at the ATP 500 on grass in Halle, which starts on Monday.