World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, set for his return to the tour at the upcoming Cincinnati Open, recently spoke about what he thought about his rivalry with Jannik Sinner. The two have cemented their status as the top two tennis players in the world and have won every single Grand Slam since US Open 2023.
What Carlos Alcaraz Has Said on Making History Alongside World No. 1 Jannik Sinner
Interacting with media ahead of the Cincinnati Open, the Spaniard disclosed his opinion on chasing glory alongside Sinner and what is considered by many to be tennis’ biggest rivalry at present. While Alcaraz, 22, has won five Grand Slam trophies, Sinner, 23, has won four.
The Spaniard said, “Jannik and I, I think we’ve done great things in tennis already in such a short period. I just let the people talk about, you know our rivalry or the things that we have done for the history books in tennis.
The Spaniard, who became the youngest male World No. 1 in the sport in 2022, stressed that he is not “thinking” about making tennis history. Such discussions, he said, are best left to other people.
“I’m not thinking about the history we’re making in tennis. I think we have such a long career ahead just to see how far we can go. And if we already made, or not, history in tennis, it is for the people to discuss.”
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Both Sinner and Alcaraz decided to skip the ongoing Masters 1000 tournament in Toronto to be better rested for the American hardcourt swing. They will begin their campaigns in Cincinnati.
How the Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz Rivalry Has Unfolded So Far
Sinner and Alcaraz have shared a fierce rivalry ever since the two youngsters burst onto the global tennis scene, with Alcaraz leading 8-5. The duo first met at the 2021 Paris Masters, where Alcaraz won 7-6(1), 7-5 in the first round, marking the beginning of a promising rivalry.
Their next clash came in the fourth round of Wimbledon 2022, where Sinner defeated Alcaraz 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3. Just weeks later, at the Croatia Open final, the Italian again came out on top, overcoming a first-set tiebreak loss to defeat Alcaraz 6-7(5), 6-1, 6-1 on clay.
One of their most iconic battles took place at the 2022 US Open quarterfinals, a five-set epic that lasted over five hours, in which Alcaraz saved a match point and won 6-3, 6-7(7), 6-7(0), 7-5, 6-3.
In the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open in 2023, Alcaraz won 7-6(4), 6-3 before Sinner won 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2 in the Miami Open semifinals. That year, the two locked horns in the last four of the China Open, and the Italian once again won 7-6(4), 6-1.
Alcaraz won all of his three meetings against Sinner in 2024, which came in the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open and the French Open, and the China Open final. The first encounter between the two in 2025 came in the final of the Italian Open, with Alcaraz triumphing once again, winning 7-6(5), 6-1.
Then came what has been the most iconic encounter between the two stars so far, the French Open final, where the Spaniard came back from two sets down to win his fifth title at the clay-court Major. Sinner then beat Alcaraz for the first time since 2023 by beating him in the Wimbledon final in straight sets.
