By Shrivathsa Sridhar
BENGALURU (Reuters) – Carlos Alcaraz heads to Paris for his French Open title defence having laid down a marker with his victory over world number one Jannik Sinner in Rome on Sunday which completed his collection of elite claycourt crowns.
Alcaraz’s fourth straight win over Sinner saw the 22-year-old join Rafa Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Kuerten and Marcelo Rios as the only men to have captured all three claycourt ATP Masters 1000 titles – Monte Carlo, Madrid and Rome.
“Winning tournaments and lifting trophies give you a lot of confidence … just to know you’re on the right path and playing great tennis. I’m excited about what’s to come for me,” the Spaniard said after his Rome success.
“It means that I’m doing the right things and I’m going to keep doing the right things coming to Paris.”
Alcaraz made the ideal start to his campaign on the sport’s slowest surface beating Lorenzo Musetti to claim his first Monte Carlo title, but then suffered an adductor muscle problem in Barcelona where he lost to Holger Rune in the final.
That fatigue-induced injury, combined with a left hamstring issue in the midst of a gruelling spell, forced Alcaraz to skip the Madrid Open and left fans concerned about his status for the year’s second major.
But the four-times Grand Slam champion dispelled any doubts about his fitness in Rome, reserving his most clinical performance for the final against Sinner and taking his record on clay to 27-2 since May 2024.
While Alcaraz has a long way to go to match the consistency of the now-retired Rafa Nadal on the surface, he possesses all the weapons to be just as ruthless, while his improved mental strength has helped him bear the weight of expectation.
The pressure to unseat Sinner at the top of the world rankings during the Italian’s three-month ban for a doping violation seemed to unnerve Alcaraz and he crashed to defeats at Indian Wells and Miami.
“Something that I realised that I had to do is not think about anything else but enjoying,” Alcaraz said after his triumph in Monte Carlo.
“I’m not thinking about the world rankings anymore. I just keep going, doing the things that I enjoy, that make me happy. It’s stepping on the court, showing good tennis, that’s it.
“If I win, great. If I don’t, I’ll learn and keep going.”
Roland Garros begins on Sunday.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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