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What Jannik Sinner said after losing first ATP final to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing

Originally posted on HITC | By Callum Davies | Last updated Sep 11, 2025 7:04 AM ET

Jannik Sinner’s latest defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final is one that may linger for a while.

It was a surprising result given the expectations around Sinner, who has made a habit of delivering strong performances throughout his career.

As Andy Roddick pointed out, Sinner had trouble with his serve, managing to hit just 48 per cent of his first serves in play.

This isn’t the first time Sinner has come up short against Alcaraz. The Spaniard now holds a 10-5 advantage in their head-to-head record.

They’ve met seven times in ATP Tour finals, and Alcaraz has won five of those encounters. Their first final meeting that ended in an Alcaraz win took place almost exactly a year ago at the China Open.

Sinner’s response to the 2024 China Open defeat

Carlos Alcaraz clinched the 2024 China Open title, edging past Jannik Sinner in a match that will be remembered as one of the year’s best.

The two players were tied at one set each and had played over three hours when Alcaraz won seven straight points in the tiebreak to secure the win.

Even though it was a tough loss to take, Sinner showed nothing but respect for Alcaraz after the match.

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Sinner told the ATP Tour: “I feel like it’s always great when we meet. We try to push ourselves and each other to the limits. He, for me, is a [reference] point of where I work.

“Also, today I saw a couple things where I need to get better. It’s not only him, there are also other players.

“It’s always nice to share the court with him. I feel like also the fans, they like it. Usually the matches are quite long, they’re physical, there are many turning points… It’s always nice.

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“I feel privileged and honoured to share the court with him. As I said, we both tried to win. We tried to concentrate on every point.

“Having a great attitude on the court makes it happen that it’s a very interesting match always.”

Can Jannik Sinner turn his record around against Carlos Alcaraz?

Jannik Sinner went into the US Open final looking to solidify his place at the top of the tennis world following his Wimbledon success.

But things didn’t go as planned, and he’s now dropped from the world number one ranking as a result.

Sinner has just five wins compared to Alcaraz’s 10 in their head-to-head matchups. From his perspective, it’s not an easy gap to close.

But there’s still plenty of time for him to shift the momentum. Novak Djokovic, for example, won only four of his first 18 matches against Rafael Nadal before eventually taking control of their rivalry by the time Nadal retired.

This article first appeared on HITC and was syndicated with permission.

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