Tennis fans will be treated once again on Monday evening when Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner walk out to contest their fourth final of 2025.
The pair stunned fans with their level of tennis in the French Open and Wimbledon finals, putting to rest any concerns about the next generation of players following Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Sinner and Alcaraz have split their two matches in 2025. Alcaraz saved three match points before capturing the French Open title, while Sinner had his revenge by defeating the Spaniard in the Wimbledon final.
It will be interesting to see if Carlos Alcaraz has made any tactical shift when the players walk out on court. After all, he struggled to compete with the ferocity of Sinner’s groundstrokes in the Wimbledon final.
Ahead of the Cincinnati Open final, former Grand Slam champions Lindsay Davenport and Jim Courier discussed the tactical battle.
Lindsay Davenport says Carlos Alcaraz ‘cannot afford’ to have dips in form against Jannik Sinner
Former Wimbledon and US Open champion Lindsay Davenport has weighed in on the tactical battle between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, pinpointing the necessity for Alcaraz to prevent dips in form throughout the match.
In recent memory, Sinner has demonstrated an ability to stay at the same level for an extended period of time on court, while Alcaraz’s form tends to fluctuate more than the Italian’s.
Davenport said: “Alcaraz has got to be able to stay in there point in point out. Sinner is relentless with his intensity, but also his focus and concentration. (Not) Very often does he beat himself or does he break himself out there, and we’ve seen Alcaraz have these dips in matches where he loses his focus.
“In a two out of three-set match he simply cannot afford to do that against Sinner.”
Jim Courier, a four-time major champion who won the Australian Open and French Open twice during his playing career, discussed what he believes Jannik Sinner will try to do tactically against Alcaraz.
He added: “What Sinner will try and do I think is suffocate Alcaraz.
“Alcaraz thrives on time to create on the court. He needs time to use his drop shots, to use the angle. He needs time on the ball and Sinner’s going to try and take that away from him.
“So, first serve percentage is going to be meaningful and how often can Sinner stay on the front foot and prevent Alcaraz’s creativity from coming to the surface.”
Alcaraz leads Sinner in hard-court victories
Jannik Sinner has won all of the last three hard-court Grand Slams, dating back to the 2024 Australian Open.
However, it is Carlos Alcaraz who leads his head-to-head record over Jannik Sinner when it comes to results on hard courts, by five wins to two.
| Tournament | Round | Result |
| 2021 Paris Masters | Round of 32 | Alcaraz won 7-6 7-5 |
| 2022 US Open | Quarter-finals | Alcaraz won 6-3 6-7 6-7 7-5 6-3 |
| 2023 Indian Wells | Semi-finals | Alcaraz won 7-6 6-4 |
| 2023 Miami Open | Semi-finals | Sinner won 6-7 6-4 6-2 |
| 2023 Beijing Open | Semi-finals | Sinner won 7-6 6-1 |
| 2024 Indian Wells | Semi-finals | Alcaraz won 1-6 6-3 6-2 |
| 2024 Beijing Open | Final | Alcaraz won 6-7 6-4 7-6 |
The Spaniard beat Sinner in their last match on a hard court: at the 2024 Beijing Open. In that match, Alcaraz produced a scintillating display of tennis to win seven straight points in the deciding set tiebreak.
Alcaraz was recently told he needs to ‘figure out’ his US Open struggles, and the Cincinnati Open final could provide the perfect springboard for him to do so.
