Carlos Alcaraz ‘has gotten into Jannik Sinner’s head’, says tennis pundit
Carlos Alcaraz has gained a mental edge over Jannik Sinner, according to Benoit Maylin with the French tennis journalist saying the Italian’s comments after the US Open final suggest Alcaraz “is in his head”.
The pair created history as they became the first duo to play in three consecutive Grand Slam finals in the same year with Alcaraz victorious in a pulsating five-set match at Roland Garros before Sinner exacted revenge at Wimbledon as he won in four sets.
Many were expecting a close contest at Flushing Meadows, but Alcaraz dominated proceedings against an off-colour Sinner as he won 6–2, 3–6, 6–1, 6–4 with the Italian unable to keep up with his incredible shotmaking and movement during final.
With the win, Alcaraz took a 10-5 lead in their head-to-head rivalry with Sinner’s only win since the start of the 2024 season coming in the Wimbledon final while the Spaniard also replaced the 24-year-old at No 1 in the ATP Rankings on the back of his title run.
After the match, Sinner gave a damning assessment of his performance in the New York final, saying: “I was very predictable today, you know, on court in the way of he did many things, he changed up the game. That’s also his style of how he plays. Now it’s going to be on me if I want to make changes or not, you know? Definitely, we are going to work on that.
“I’m trying to be more prepared for the next match what I will play against him. It also, I feel like, depends how you arrive to play against Carlos.
“One thing is when the scoreline, you know, matches before are comfortable but you always do the same things, like I did, for example, during this tournament I didn’t make one serve-volley, didn’t use a lot of drop shots, and then you arrive to a point where you play against Carlos where you have to go out of the comfort zone.”
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Acclaimed French pundit Maylin was unimpressed with Sinner’s performance in the hard-court Grand Slam final and he feels Alcaraz’s ability to change things up has given the Italian a major headache.
“Sinner’s statement after his defeat in the final against Alcaraz proves to me that Carlos has gotten into his head,” he said on Sans Filet. “I remind you that we’re 10-5 for Alcaraz in their meetings, having [also] won Cincinnati and six of their last seven matches.
“He’s in his head because, in any case, Sinner will never be able to play like Alcaraz. The problem, and he’s aware of it, is that 97% of the players on the tour don’t play like Alcaraz. No one is capable of making these variations and playing with his power.
“So you play your tournament, the only little hitch is, as if by chance, a left-hander [Denis Shapovalov] who starts making variations like [Grigor] Dimitrov at Wimbledon, and all of a sudden Alcaraz arrives, with a tennis that you can’t adjust to.”
During his press conference, Sinner vowed to improve even if it means losing matches.
“So I’m going to aim to maybe even losing some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes, you know, trying to be a bit more unpredictable as a player, because I think that’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player,” he stated.
Improving his serve will no doubt be a top priority as his first serve percentage was at 48% in the final compared to Alcaraz’s 61%.
Maylin added: “We know that Sinner is predictable, it’s his tennis, but he’s so powerful and it’s so well done. He’ll find the solution but he first has to serve better.”
