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Carlos Alcaraz now holds an 8-4 head-to-head lead over Jannik Sinner, whom he defeated in the finals of the last two clay-court tournaments. Sinner, after a three-month doping ban, made his comeback at the Italian Open but lost the match to the Spaniard in straight sets.
The World No.1 then progressed to the French Open final for the first time, following strong performances one after the other, handing his opponents bagels and breadsticks in the process. Sinner was tested for the first time in the clay-court Major when he played 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinal.
Somehow Sinner won that match in straight sets to secure a blockbuster final clash against Alcaraz in the final. They were pitted against each other in the final of a Grand Slam tournament for the first time.
En route to the win, the World No.2 saved three championship points in the fourth set. It was Alcaraz’s fifth Grand Slam title and this made him the third youngest man to reach that tally after Bjorn Borg and the tournament’s most successful player, Rafael Nadal.
Sinner has now lost five consecutive matches against Alcaraz. What he must do to beat the 22-year-old? According to 14-time French Open’s uncle and former coach Toni Nadal, Sinner must improve his drop shots, which Alcaraz often incorporates during his matches. He told La Gazzetta dello Sport:
I speak as an outside observer, Sinner’s coaches know very well what needs to be worked on. He has a great serve, very powerful forehand, and backhand, and he is very solid. He could be more precise in the drop shots, and sometimes he is a bit in a hurry.
Before the final, Sinner won all of his matches in straights. But against his arch-rival, he dropped three sets before losing that epic match in five hours and 29 minutes, which has now become the longest French Open final in the history of tennis.
Toni Nadal shares what he thinks Jannik Sinner’s team should have done in the final
The French Open final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner was a tight affair from the very first set. Sinner somehow was successful in taking a 2-0 lead, before losing the third set.
He still had the lead and capitalized on it by reaching match points. That was the turning point of the match because Alcaraz made an incredible comeback to not only win that set but take that match to the decider and through the tie-breaker, he wrapped it up in his favor. Toni Nadal thinks Sinner’s team should have urged him at match points to calm down. He told La Gazzetta dello Sport:
It was a very tough defeat. Jannik lacked a bit of calm in the most important moment. Maybe his box should have told him ‘Calm down!’ There was tension, Jannik was one step away from winning his fourth Slam, equalling Carlos.
After the French Open heartbreak, the three-time Grand Slam champion landed in Halle for the grass swing. He knocked out home favorite Yannick Hanfmann but ended up losing the second round to Alexander Bublik, who became the first player other than Alcaraz to beat Sinner since the Canadian Open last August.
Sinner, for the first time since that Canadian Open failed to reach a final. Also for the first time he didn’t reach a quarterfinal since his defeat to Ben Shelton in the 2023 Shanghai Masters. The Italian will next be preparing for Wimbledon where he never progressed to the championship match. He was the semifinalist in 2023 and was defeated in the quarterfinals last year by Daniil Medvedev.
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TODAY'S BEST
Steelers reporter shares big claim about how Aaron Rodgers has looked in training camp
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers spent the bulk of the spring as an unsigned free agent and, thus, only began officially practicing with Pittsburgh Steelers teammates during the team's three-day mandatory minicamp in June. During a Monday appearance on Pittsburgh radio station 102.5 WDVE, Steelers reporter Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette addressed how Rodgers looked during his first few training camp practices with the club. "His release is just astonishing to watch," Dulac said about Rodgers, as shared by Ross McCorkle of Steelers Depot. "Everybody knows about it, and when you see it in person, you see it every day in practice, you just marvel at it. To me, he's the greatest thrower of the football I have ever seen, even at 41 (years old). That flick of that wrist and that ball comes out, it's moving and it is something to see." Rodgers was with the New York Jets when he suffered a torn Achilles four offensive snaps into the 2023 regular-season opener. He was then slowed by a nagging hip issue, injuries to both his knees, a low ankle sprain and a serious hamstring problem as the 2024 Jets went 5-12. According to Pro Football Reference, Rodgers finished last season ranked 28th in the NFL among qualified players with a 48.0 adjusted QBR and 26th with a 43.9 percent passing success rate. That said, he was also eighth with 3,897 passing yards and tied for seventh with 28 passing touchdowns. Rodgers and Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson endured some struggles during training camp sessions last summer before the two allegedly "never saw eye-to-eye" during the season. It sounds like Pittsburgh fans should be encouraged by how Rodgers performed in recent practices. "That guy can get rid of the ball as quick as anybody," Dulac added. "He made three throws in seven-on-seven (drills) the other day that the cumulative total I bet couldn't have exceeded 2.1 seconds. And two of those were for touchdowns." Rodgers wants to finish his career "the right way" and help the Steelers notch at least their first playoff win since January 2017. As of Monday morning, DraftKings Sportsbook had Pittsburgh at -150 betting odds to miss the playoffs for the upcoming season.
Oilers to Acquire a Top-Tier Goalie. An Official Trade Offer Is on the Table in a Blockbuster Deal
Raiders rookie WR showing he could be steal of 2025 draft
Las Vegas Raiders WR Dont'e Thornton Jr. is opening eyes at training camp, including QB Geno Smith, who appears to be trusting the rookie. Maybe that is the reason why general manager John Spytek has not looked for outside help at the position. And just maybe he got a steal from the 2025 NFL Draft. That looked evident on the first day of pads in Henderson, Nevada, where Thornton badly beat fellow rookie cornerback Darien Porter for a long touchdown, as described by The Athletic's Tashan Reed. In a piece, Reed said Thornton has been the first-string "X" receiver since OTAs and "could make an immediate impact." Thornton shared what Smith told him during training camp: "He tells me every single day, 'if you've got a one-on-one matchup, I'm coming to you,'" Smith said, as shared by Reed. "It means a lot to me. Being a rookie and just getting here ... just knowing that he believes in me a lot. It gives me a lot of motivation to keep getting better." While the headlines are more on rookie RB Ashton Jeanty for his potential big season, Thornton is making sure he is not forgotten after getting selected in the fourth round (108th overall) after leading the University of Tennessee with 661 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, Thornton is getting all the opportunities he can get, given the Raiders didn't bother to add a veteran WR. One could see why Thornton is raising eyebrows in training camp. That is a good thing because Smith is trusting Thornton's potential playmaking abilities. Thornton is one of the tallest Raiders WRs besides Collin Johnson, and that could be a big deal given the Raiders need a big target minus TEs Brock Bowers, Michael Mayer and Ian Thomas. Yet, ESPN's Mike Clay is projecting Thornton to have a quiet year with 317 receiving yards and a TD. With such low numbers, maybe that is how the Raiders would prefer it to be, anyway. Only the Raiders know what they have in Thornton. It is up to Thornton to keep the momentum going into preseason games and beyond.
Red Sox Aren't Getting Standout Back Anytime Soon
The Boston Red Sox got some bad news in the infield. Rookie infielder Marcelo Mayer has gotten a lot of time at second base and third base. Since Alex Bregman returned, Mayer has gotten most of his action at second base while also filling in as the Red Sox worked Bregman back slowly. Unfortunately, he's on the Injured List, though, due to a wrist sprain. MassLive.com's Christopher Smith shared the lastest update on Mayer from Red Sox manager Alex Cora on Saturday noted that he's "not gonna play soon." "No new updates on Marcelo Mayer's wrist sprain, Red Sox manager Alex Cora said," Smith shared. "'Just waiting for results and see specialists and all that stuff,' Cora added. 'He's not gonna play soon. So have to make sure where we're at and what the course of action is going to be.'" Losing Mayer is tough. Defense has been a question mark for Boston once again this season but Mayer has helped in that area. With Mayer out, Ceddanne Rafaela is expected to get a lot of action at second base. That helps to alleviate the logjam in the outfield, but also removes arguably the best defensive center fielder in the game. Boston isn't at full strength and Cora noting he's "not gonna play soon" certainly doesn't sound positive. Before going down, Mayer was slashing .228/.272/.402 with four homers, 10 RBIs, and eight doubles. Will the Red Sox add another piece ahead of the trade deadline? It absolutely makes sense at this point.
Yankees Want Polarizing Red Sox Infielder, Per NY Insider
Could the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees come together on a deal before the 2025 Major League Baseball trade deadline passes? It's never likely for these two American League East rivals to come together on a deal, but it has happened plenty of times. Carlos Narváez was gifted to Boston last offseason for Elmer Rodriguez-Cruz. Boston traded outfielder Alex Verdugo to New York the offseason before for Richard Fitts, Greg Weissert, and Nicholas Judice. These are just two deals in recent memory. A deal between the two rivals surely is never likely, but has happened plenty of times. Over the next three days, there are going to be plenty of rumors and speculation ahead of Thursday's MLB trade deadline. One that popped up on Monday is that the Yankees reportedly like Red Sox speedy infielder David Hamilton, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post. This is the first time that Hamilton's name has been thrown around with the trade deadline set to pass on July 31st. Hamilton has played in just 63 games for Boston this season and is slashing .179/.229/.276 with three homers, 12 RBIs, and 15 stolen bases. Hamilton's best trait surely is his baserunning ability. when he gets on base, he's dynamic. Right now, he's back in Boston with Marcelo Mayer on the Injured List and has been used as a late-inning pinch runner and in the infield. It's unclear if Boston is open to moving him, but we'll find out over the next few days.
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