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Jannik Sinner - Cincinnati Open 2024, Carlos Alcaraz - Shanghai Masters 2024

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Carlos Alcaraz reacts to Jannik Sinner’s Paris Masters withdrawal: It’s never good news

Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
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Carlos Alcaraz has reacted to the news that his biggest rival Jannik Sinner has withdrawn from the Paris Masters, while also comparing his own game to this time last year.Alcaraz began his campaign in the French capital in winning fashion last night, beating Chilean Nicolas Jarry 7-5 6-1 to progress to the last 16.
As a result of his opening victory in Paris, Alcaraz has already gained ranking points after losing in the second round last year to Roman Safiullin. And when speaking to media at the final Masters 1000 event of the season, Alcaraz explained to Tennis Majors how he is feeling different in 2024, “It’s always hard to compare your tennis year to year, but I am in a much better state mentally. “I do want to play at my best level at this part of the season. It was difficult for me in 2023 to stay good mentally. It’s totally different now. I’m motivated to win this tournament, to make good results. Last year the court was probably slower but it’s difficult to compare.” Despite Alcaraz winning his opening match in Paris, the main news story of the day came when top seed Sinner withdrew from the tournament after revealing that he had a viral illness.
This leaves Alcaraz as the highest ranked player remaining in the draw, but the Spaniard was certainly not celebrating this news. “It’s never good news when the best player in the world withdraws from a tournament,” said Alcaraz. “I wouldn’t meet him before the final but I love to see him playing as a tennis fan. Probably the players in his part of the draw are happy but it’s not good news to my eyes.” Alcaraz will look to bring the focus back to himself tomorrow, as he awaits his next opponent of either Ugo Humbert or Marcos Giron.
Inside the baseline…Although no player would openly celebrate the withdrawal of one of their rivals, Carlos Alcaraz genuinely seems disappointed that Jannik Sinner is no longer competing in Paris. Alcaraz is ultimately a big tennis fan and at the end of the day he wants to win titles, but it will always feel sweeter when you do it by beating the best. Hopefully Alcaraz and Sinner can have at least one more match before the end of the season, either at the ATP Finals or Davis Cup Finals.
READ MORE: Jannik Sinner withdraws from Paris Masters after ‘feeling unwell’
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