Carlos Alcaraz has lifted the lid on his relationship with rival Jannik Sinner, after claiming the title in a dramatic final at the China Open.
Alcaraz brought an end to Sinner’s 15-match winning streak after beating him, 6(6)-7 6-4 7-6(3), in a final that lasted three hours and 24 minutes.
As a result, the Spaniard has become the first player in history to win an ATP 500 title on every surface.
Despite claiming victory in Beijing, Alcaraz was full of praise for his opponent and described Sinner as ‘the best player in the world’, “He could (have won) in two, I could win in two, he could win in three. It was a really close match.
“Jannik, once again, he showed that he’s the best player in the world, at least for me. The level that he’s playing, it’s unbelievable. It’s a really high quality of tennis. Of shots, physically, mentally, he’s a beast.”
Alcaraz was also asked about his relationship with the Italian, admitting that there is a lot of respect, but they are not close friends.
“Once we are on tour, travelling, at tournaments, on site, we are with our teams and on our own, so we [Alcaraz and Sinner] don’t speak too much,” revealed Alcaraz. “But when we can, we talk a little bit besides tennis, about life. But not too much.
It means we have a good relationship but we are not close friends. I think the respect we have puts us in a position that we have a really good relationship
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Alcaraz is now already in Shanghai after flying straight from Beijing, with the World No.2 explaining the challenges of the tight schedule.
“The tennis schedule is so, so tight, we’re traveling from tournament to tournament with just one or two days before the tournament begins, so it is difficult, but we have to get used to it,” detailed Alcaraz.
“I just did everything in a rush… we arrived here in Shanghai super late so I couldn’t sleep as much as I wanted.”
Alcaraz now has a couple of days away from the matchcourt, before beginning his campaign at the Shanghai Masters against Chinese youngster Juncheng Shang on Saturday.
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