Ex-ATP Pro Warns Jannik Sinner to ‘Watch His Back’ From Carlos Alcaraz in Cincinnati

The tennis world is waiting for the Cincinnati Masters because there, several top players will make their comeback. And these include the top two Men’s players: Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

The Cincinnati Masters will be their first tournament since their Wimbledon title clash last month. Sinner came from a set down to deny the Spaniard a three-peat and become the first Italian ever to take home the title.

On the rankings table, Sinner comfortably sits on top with 12,030 points, while second-placed Alcaraz has 8,600. But because Alcaraz won’t have much points to defend in the North American continent, former player from Italy, Paolo Bertolucci, warned his compatriot to be wary of Alcaraz, who in an interview, has made it clear that one of his goals for the rest of the season is to reclaim his No.1 spot from the four-time Grand Slam champion.

He’ll have to watch his back from the Spaniard, now his only real rival for the world number one spot. The Spaniard has followed the same path as Sinner and will also restart on the scorching American hard courts of Cincinnati, but unlike the Italian, despite being behind in the rankings, he will have very few points to defend in this final stretch of the 2025 season.

Paolo Bertolucci wrote in his column for La Gazzetta dello Sport

Alcaraz has reached seven finals so far this season and captured five titles. Sinner, after defending his Australian Open title, served his three-month ban before making a strong comeback, which resulted in him reaching three finals and winning Wimbledon.

Sinner and Alcaraz have met thrice this season. Apart from their Wimbledon encounter, they faced each other in the final of the Italian Open and the French Open, both of which the five-time Grand Slam champion won.

The two young rivals could also schedule a clash in the championship match of the Cincinnati Masters, as Sinner and Alcaraz will be the first and second seeds, respectively. Last year, the Murcia native succumbed to an opening-round defeat against Gael Monfils, while Sinner reached the final and ended the tournament in his favor by beating Frances Tiafoe.

Alcaraz came close to lifting the title in 2023, but he couldn’t cross the final hurdle in the form of 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. The Serb has decided to withdraw from the tournament just like last year.

Last year, Sinner also lifted the US Open by defeating Taylor Fritz, but Alcaraz fell in the second round. The 22-year-old will be bidding to double his US Open tally this year, given that he was the winner at Flushing Meadows in 2022 (also his first Grand Slam title).

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