'He can destroy with his power': Andy Roddick explains why Carlos Alcaraz 'most well-equipped' to beat Jannik Sinner

Former world number one Andy Roddick highlights why Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz remains the only player in the world who can stop Italy’s Jannik Sinner. Both players are set to face off in a mouthwatering finale of the ongoing Rome Open on Sunday.

Alcaraz cemented his spot in the final after beating Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 7-6. On the other hand, Sinner got the better of America’s Tommy Paul with a score of 1-6, 6-0, 6-3 to cement his berth in the final of the competition on his home soil.

This will be the 12th meeting between the two players. In the previous 11 meetings, the young Spaniard had an edge, coming out on top on seven occasions. Three of those victories came in the last three matches, all of which were played last year. However, Sinner, who recently returned to the court after spending three months on the sidelines, has looked in prime touch and reminded everyone why he remains the best player in the world.

Former world number one Roddick spoke to The Tennis Channel, explaining why Sinner remained extremely impressive throughout the campaign. The one-time Grand Slam also highlighted the reason why Alcaraz is the only player capable of stopping the reigning world number one in his prime.

“Carlos is a genius finding a way to hit behind his opponent,” said Roddick. “Especially when the footing is not that solid. Let’s turn back a clock for a second, all the way back to when he play Casper Ruud. Sinner knows that Casper Ruud can attack him by going high and heavy. He kind of knows what’s coming. Today the only way was going to get ahead of the point was to go hard, flat, through the court into back hand. He didn’t really have to defend backhand line over and over, especially if he hits a good ball. Carlos is capable of all of it. He can create the high balls, he can hit that backhand through the court, so its not going to be as simple for Sinner just to get into that kind of exchange where he is the best in the world. Carlos doesn’t want Jannik to hit multiple shots from the same position, that is when he can distribute, that is when he can destroy with his power and Carlos is probably the most well-equipped person on earth to deal with Jannik Sinner.”