Turin [Italy], November 17 : Spanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz was effusive about his rival from Italy, Jannik Sinner, following their latest encounter at the Nitto ATP Finals. Alcaraz ended on the losing side but remained upbeat about his performance and acknowledged the challenge that he faced while battling Sinner indoors.
In front of his home crowd, the local hero Sinner trounced Alcaraz with a 7-6(4), 7-5 win in a contest that lasted for two hours and 15 minutes. With his memorable triumph, Sinner etched his name in history by joining John McEnroe and Boris Becker as the only men to lift multiple Nitto ATP Finals trophies on home soil.
"I thought at the beginning of the match that I could beat him, that I could compete against him here. It didn't surprise [me] at all that I was really close. It was just about the tennis. I'm just really happy with the performance that I did today. I'm pretty sure that it's going to keep growing, my level on indoor courts," Alcaraz said of Sinner as quoted from ATP.
"I felt the improvements of Jannik. I said many times, I think a player like him, he always comes back stronger from the losses. He always learn from the losses. Once again, he has shown everybody that he did it. Especially in the serves, putting so much pressure on you. It's really difficult to play against him," he added.
Alcaraz had outfoxed Sinner in the US Open final in September, but the 24-year-old responded boldly in Turin and lifted the year-end trophy for the second successive year. In the pulsating final, Alcaraz received medical treatment as he struggled with a hamstring issue at 5-4 in the opening set. He had his upper thigh taped and continued to push Sinner to his limits. At the end of the contest, the world number one didn't affect his game.
"I felt something in my hamstring after trying to catch one serve. I could say that it didn't affect me too much because I could run well, I could go to the balls well. [There were] thoughts about how [it] is going to be if I do crazy things that I'm used to doing, how is it going to be. Those thoughts were in my mind sometimes. But I could play well," Alcaraz said.
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor