Carlos Alcaraz describes ATP rival’s game as ‘annoying’
Carlos Alcaraz started his Dubai campaign with a comfortable win over Arthur Rinderknech and afterwards he admitted that he finds the French No 1’s game “annoying” while he also discussed the prospect of a final against Jannik Sinner.
Fresh from winning his seventh Grand Slam title with victory over Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, Alcaraz claimed a 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) win over Rinderknech to take his unbeaten run to eight matches.
The win – his 150th victory on hard courts – helped him to extend his H2H record against the Frenchman to 5-0, but the world No 1 admits playing against the 6’5” Rinderknech is “annoying”.
“I think all our matches are always really tight. I’m going to say it’s just about the tennis. Every match that I played against him it was all about the tennis,” he said.
“So he has a really, I don’t know, I’m going to say an annoying game. Because, I mean, with the serve, trying to go all the time to the net.
“He’s really big, you know, and then in the net he covered a lot of the court, so it’s really difficult when he comes to the net making the passing shot. His ball is coming really flat, so sometimes really difficult to control the ball.
“There are a lot of things that make his game really difficult to play against and control the situation. So it feels like you got to run, you got to defend well if you want to have opportunities against him.
“I think every match that I played against him I defend pretty well, I just make great passing shots, and the serve is a great weapon. So just happy that I was able to do it, and that’s why he’s really, or at least for me, really difficult every time that I play against him.”
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Few would bet against an Alcaraz-Sinner final as the pair met in six ATP finals in 2025 and the former is hoping for their first “reunion” of the 2026 campaign at the ATP 500 event in Dubai.
After facing each other in three consecutive Grand Slam finals last year, many expected the top two players in men’s tennis would meet again at the Australian Open final, but Djokovic denied them a dream match as he defeated Sinner in the semi-final.
With both taking time off after the hard-court major, they will get another opportunity at the Dubai Tennis Championships, but they can once again only meet in the final as they are on opposite sides of the draw.
Alcaraz admits that having his big rival feature at the same event motivates him, saying: “Well, in the end, I think having Jannik in the draw is always good. You always want to keep pace. Hopefully, we can reach a final.
“I think those are the moments you work for, to reach the final rounds, whoever it is. But obviously, I’m not going to lie, when Jannik is in the draw, you feel it’s much more likely that I’ll reach the final rounds. That motivates me to play my best, that motivates me to take it one day at a time and try to see my name in that final.”
Alcaraz won four of their finals last year, including the French Open and US Open, while Sinner won at Wimbledon and their most recent encounter at the ATP Finals last November.
Overall, the seven-time Grand Slam winner has a 10-6 advantage in their head-to-head rivalry.
