"My head-to-heads don't look great against Carlos Alcaraz" - Jannik Sinner gives honest self-analysis ahead of 'difficult' French Open final

Jannik Sinner has made an honest analysis of his head-to-head against Carlos Alcaraz ahead of their 2025 French Open final. This will be the first Grand Slam final to be contested between two of the biggest names on the men's side of tennis at the moment.

Despite serving a three-month suspension, Sinner wasted no time getting back to pulverizing his opponents. He made his return with a bang, reaching the final of the Italian Open, following which he entered the Paris Major. He kicked off his campaign with a comfortable win over Athur Rinderknech and then decimated Richard Gasquet, Jiri Lehecka, 17th seed Andrey Rublev, and Alexander Bublik.

In the semifinal, the World No. 1 stunned the sixth seed Novak Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) to reach his maiden French Open final, where he will play his biggest rival, Carlos Alcaraz. Though the two young stars always produce fiery matches, the Spaniard is currently on a four-match win streak against him, helping him get a 7-4 lead in their rivalry.

Speaking on playing Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner said that he could always feel the magnitude of the occasion despite trying not to think about it.

"Of course I, I try to, you know, don't think about this, but you know, before going on court you you feel the tension, you feel what's what's coming against you. But again, you know, I always try to prepare myself in the best possible way, trying to be ready for every situation on the courts. I'm very happy how we did that today." (1:48 onwards)

The Italian also touched upon his four-match losing streak against the Spaniard, but decided that he would shift his focus to their final. Interestingly, the two men were embroiled in a hard-fought five-set thriller in the semifinal in Paris last year, which the Spaniard ended up winning.

"And of course, Sunday it's going to be very, very difficult. I know that I, my head to heads lately, they don't look great against Carlos, so let's see what I can do, but again, I'm very happy to be here in the final and then we'll see what we can do."

Jannik Sinner also opened up about the occasion in detail during his post-match press conference.

“It’s fun and not fun" - Jannik Sinner opens up about how it feels to play Carlos Alcaraz

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after their Italian Open 2025 final- Source: Getty

When asked if he ever found playing Carlos Alcaraz fun, Jannik Sinner said,

“It’s fun and not fun, you know? We try to push ourself in the best possible way. I believe when there’s a good match, it’s also good to play. Not only to watch, but also to play. It’s very very special."

He then touched upon the significance of this occasion for both men and highlighted that they both felt a special tension during their matches against each other.

"The stage doesn’t get any bigger. Grand slam final against Carlos, it’s a special moment for me and him too. He won here last year. Let’s see what’s coming. For sure, the tension you feel before the match and during the match is a bit different in a way. We are both very young. Both different, but talented. Let’s see.”

With a first Sincaraz (a nickname given to their rivalry) final confirmed at the 2025 French Open, this will be the sixth consecutive Grand Slam to be won by one of the two men. While Jannik Sinner won the Australian Open in 2024 and 2025, and the 2024 US Open, Carlos Alcaraz won the French Open and Wimbledon last year.