Andy Roddick identifies the moment Carlos Alcaraz forced Jannik Sinner to change his focus
Jannik Sinner ended the 2025 season on the ultimate high as he backed up his victories in tournaments in Vienna and Paris by beating his great rival Carlos Alcaraz in the ATP Finals in Turin, with former world No 1 Andy Roddick suggesting the Italian has been inspired by one of his biggest defeats of this year.
Sinner had too much for Alcaraz in the deciding match of the ATP Finals, with a hamstring problem suffered by the Spaniard playing a big role in the outcome of what was a tight contest.
It was a huge moment for Sinner, who showed signs of nerves during the match before he found a way to overcome the one opponent who consistently takes him out of his comfort zone.
The victory for Sinner was also a big step forward after he was comfortably beaten by Alcaraz in the US Open final last September, with the loss in New York inspiring an honest Sinner to admit he had to find a way to take his game to the next level.
“I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and I’m gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but, they can make big differences and then we see how it goes,” said Sinner.
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“Maybe I will lose some matches from now on, but I will try to do some changes, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player and because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player.”
Those comments raised plenty of eyebrows and a few months later, he has found some solutions to beating Alcaraz after a convincing wins in the Six Kings Slam exhibition match in Saudi Arabia was back up by his ATP Finals win in Turin.
Speaking on the latest episode of his Served podcast, Roddick suggested the convincing win for Alcaraz at the US Open was a wake-up call for Sinner and he has responded like a champion.
“I don’t know if we’ve ever had two guys that are as honest about their deficiencies when the rest of the world doesn’t see any,” said Roddick.
“Post US Open, Sinner goes into his press conference and he is fresh off winning Wimbledon and not losing against anyone who isn’t named Carlos.
“He walks in and goes, I need to change a lot. That is an insane about of self-awareness and certainly more self-awareness than I ever had. To be one of the best two players in the world to have that much clarity over what happens next, that’s not normal.”
Roddick also suggested Sinner hit his passing shots with more pace in the Turin final, after he was surprised by Alcaraz’s net rushing approach that reaped rewards in their US Open meeting.
“Jannik saw what we saw at the US Open,” he added. “He saw what Carlos was doing. There were six or seven times in that match in Turin where he his his passing shots just that much firmer and caught Carlos coming in. It was like ‘okay, that worked once in New York, but now I’m looking for it’.
“If Sinner knows what’s coming, it’s curtains. Sinner is one of the best I’ve ever seen covering the centre of the court, apart from maybe Andre (Agassi).
“Sinner is like Djokovic 2.0. Novak was so good at swallowing pace and I think their games are the most similar. He is the next version of a Novak.”
