No mercy in Rome as Alcaraz beats Sinner in Italian Open final

Carlos Alcaraz won the Italian Open on Sunday after beating rival Jannik Sinner 7-6 (7/5), 6-1 in the final and firing a warning shot for Roland Garros.

Alcaraz, who will climb to world number two behind Sinner on Monday, won his third title of the season ahead of the French Open which starts next weekend.

The Spaniard claimed victory in his fourth final of the season and sent a message to the rest of the men's tour for Roland Garros where he will defend the title.

Sinner tops the world rankings but his 26-match winning streak was ended by Alcaraz, also the man who had last beat him in last year's China Open final.

Alcaraz is the only man to beat Sinner in a tour final since the start of 2024, when his Italian rival began his rise to the top of men's tennis and three Grand Slam titles.

The 22-year-old has had a hugely impressive clay court swing this season even with the thigh injury which cost him the chance to compete at the Madrid Open.

Italy's Jannik Sinner shows his finalist trophy. Photos: AFP

Alcaraz won in Rome a second Masters 1000 title of the year to go alongside his victory at Monte Carlo last month. He also reached the final in Barcelona.

Finishing runner-up is still a hugely positive result for Sinner in his first tournament since his three-month ban for testing positive twice in March last year for traces of clostebol, a contamination doping authorities accepted was accidental.

His progress in Rome also sets up the possibility of another final clash with Alcaraz at Roland Garros, with the two young stars of men's tennis set to be the two top seeds in Paris.

Sinner was gunning to become the first Italian man to win at the Foro Italico since Adriano Panatta back in 1976, but he failed to make it a hat-trick of triumphs for home players in the Italian capital.

Earlier Jasmine Paolini became the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to win the Italian Open singles and doubles titles when she and Sara Errani beat Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday.

The Italian duo -- who delivered Italy their first ever Olympic tennis gold in Paris last year -- came back from four games down in both sets to retain their title.

On Saturday Paolini became the first Italian woman to win the Rome singles title since Raffaella Reggi in 1985 after overcoming former US Open champion Coco Gauff in straight sets.

Paolini, who lashed home the winning forehand on a sunny centre court, is the second woman to win the singles and doubles at a 1000 series event, the first being Vera Zvonareva at Indian Wells in 2009.

Meanwhile, world number three Coco Gauff is hoping the third time will be the charm for her when it comes to tournament finals on clay this season, as she heads into the French Open having fallen short in back-to-back finals on the surface this month.

"Hopefully I can get to the final in Roland Garros and maybe the 'third time is a charm' thing is a real thing," Gauff told reporters after her second loss in a WTA 1000 final.

"Overall I lost to two quality opponents, Aryna in Madrid and Jasmine here. So yeah, I think I have a lot to improve, a lot that I can work on."

US Open 2023 winner Gauff has struggled with unforced errors during the Italian Open, making over 70 in her semi-final win over Zheng Qinwen and 55 on Saturday, giving Paolini a significant edge.

"I made the final with those errors. Made the final maybe not playing my best tennis," said Gauff, who reached the French Open final in 2022 and was a semi-finalist last year.

"It just gives me confidence if I can find that good form heading into Roland Garros, I can do well there."

The main draw of the French Open begins May 25.

Agencies