By Chris Oddo | Sunday August 17, 2025
Carlos Alcaraz had a five-match winning streak against Jannik Sinner snapped during this year’s Wimbledon final, but the Spaniard is already looking ahead to starting another heater against the World No.1. That might sound like an impossible task to mere mortals, but to Alcaraz, who touts an 8-5 lifetime record against the Italian, you never know.
Ahead of Monday’s final in Cincinnati, the five-time major champion said he is excited to face Sinner in what will be the pair’s first ever final on a hard court, and their 14th meeting overall.
“I think this, if I’m not wrong, it is the first final on hard court,” Alcaraz said. “So I’m excited about taking that challenge. I know that Jannik, without a doubt, he’s the best player in the world on hard court and probably on every surface right now. So it’s going to be really a great match.
“I have to be ready for that, seeing what I did wrong in the last match. And I will try to make it better on Monday. I’m just glad to be in another final. I think it’s my seventh in a row, the fourth against Jannik. So it’s going to be a great, great day.”
Alcaraz: Small Details Count
Second-seeded Alcaraz says he learns from all of his battles with Sinner, and he is always on the hunt for tactical wrinkles at his rival that might give him an edge.
“I would say it is about small, small details,” he said. “And obviously I’m learning. I’m learning from every match and playing against him, because from the first match, I’m sure he did too. So after, after every match, we have to rewatch the the match, just to take notes and to see how I can be better, and to see tactically, how should I play and everything, everything like that. And study, you know, his movements, study his tactics, his gameplay, just to come back to another match, being, being a little bit different.”
Asked what makes Sinner so difficult as an opponent, Alcaraz said how he manages to deliver top-flight tennis every time they meet, without fail.
“It is crazy, the way he always plays at his his best, it seems like you have to earn every point every game. He makes you suffer since the first point of the match, until, until the last, the last ball. The capacity of, you know, being there mentally, point after point, not having up and downs on the on the match makes him is really, really special.”
