Carlos Alcaraz admitted he was struggling to find a way to beat Jannik Sinner after he was well beaten by the Italian in their most recent meeting, but he was delighted to welcome his rival to Spain for a pre-season training hit. Sinner took the lead in his head-to-head rivalry with Alcaraz as he dumped the top seed out of the China Open in the semi-finals in October.
The pair had shared their opening six matches, including a US Open quarter-final that was arguably the best contest of last year. Yet Alcaraz was no match for his young rival in China, as the errors began to flow in a 7-6 (4) 6-1 victory for Sinner.
After that match, Alcaraz admitted he took time to consider why he had lost to Sinner in such a comprehensive fashion in a one-sided second set. “I talked with Juan Carlos (Ferrero, his coach) on how I would have to change it, you know, how can I be better,” he said.
“Obviously, I have to do my homework, to re-watch the match (against Sinner) and to see things more clearly, you know, and study what happened exactly. “What I remember is I cannot make everyone happy. I just have to be focused on myself, on being myself all the time.
“You know, don’t pretend to make everyone happy. It’s impossible. I’m going to say that, just to be focused on myself and being myself all the time, and that’s everything for me.
We have a good rivalry (with Sinner). I am a guy who doesn’t want to lose in any match. Against him it is different.
“I feel a difference. Every time I beat him or lose against him is different. I learn something from every match I play against him. “It would be great if (the rivalry) was like Rafa and Roger. It would be the dream. For ourselves and the tennis fans.”
They were honest comments from the world No 2, with Sinner’s two wins against Novak Djokovic in the ATP Finals and Davis Cup to finish the year seeing many observers install the Italian as the favourite to put the Serbian world No 1 for the big titles in 2024.
Yet Alcaraz was clearly keen to get more accustomed to Sinner’s brand of tennis and invited his rival to his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero’s academy in Murcia for a high profile pre-season warm-up.
Both Sinner and Alcaraz posted images of their meet-up on their Instagram accounts, with the outcome of the match they played against each other kept under wraps. It confirmed that their rivalry is very much confined to the court, with their off-court relationship seemingly in great shape.
The same is true for Alcaraz with Djokovic after the pair practised together on a couple of occasions at the back end of the 2023 season.
This friendly fire will all be put on hold when the Australian Open starts next month, with Alcaraz and Sinner eager to prove they are the biggest threat to Djokovic as he looks to continue his dominance at Melbourne Park.
