Carlos Alcaraz Denies Mind Games With Jannik Sinner

World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz has had Jannik Sinner’s number for a while. The Spaniard has played his great rival on four occasions since the start of the 2024 season and has won all of their meetings. However, he has denied talking about their potential final at Roland Garros in a week.

Alcaraz and Sinner are the top two seeds on opposite sides of the draw at Roland Garros. They are expected to reach the championship match, but the young Spaniard has played it safe and said that he is not looking beyond his third-round match. The 22-year-old will play Damir Dzumhur in the third round at the French Open.

What Did Carlos Alcaraz Say?

In the post-match press conference reported by Punto de Break, Alcaraz is happy that he has shown dominance against Sinner. However, he said he‘s not yet focusing on the final as it is far away. “Final is too far away right now to think about. Who knows? Winning the last 4 matches against him? Yeah, it’s great having wins against him. But I don’t know if in case I’m gonna face him sooner or later. It’s too far away to think about the finals right now.”

Sinner will play local favorite Richard Gasquet in the second round of Roland Garros. The French veteran is playing in his final tournament after announcing his retirement on October 10, 2024, the same day Rafael Nadal announced that he would leave the game. Sinner has a tougher draw compared to Alcaraz, as he would have to face players like Novak Djokovic and Arthur Fils in his section of the draw.

The Rivalry So Far

The rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner has started on a promising note. The duo has played 11 times on the ATP Tour so far, with the Spaniard holding a 7-4 advantage. They recently met at the Italian Open final, with Alcaraz winning in straight sets. He snapped Sinner’s 26-match unbeaten streak starting in October of 2024. Ironically, Alcaraz was the last man to defeat Sinner, as he edged his great rival on the final set tiebreak at the China Open.