Jannik Sinner ‘currently stronger than Carlos Alcaraz on clay’, claims former world No 7
Carlos Alcaraz no longer has the edge over Jannik Sinner on clay, with a former world No 7 stating the Italian is “currently stronger” on the red dirt.
The pair met in the Monte Carlo Masters final on Sunday and it was the Italian who came away with the win and the trophy as he beat Alcaraz 7–6 (7–5), 6–3 to win his first ATP Masters 1000 title on clay and return to No 1 in the ATP Rankings.
With the win, Sinner reduced the deficit in their head-to-head rivalry to 10-7 while Alcaraz also still leads the H2H on clay, but he is now just 3-2 ahead.
And while many believe Alcaraz remains the stronger player on clay, former Italian player Corrado Barazzutti – who reached the semi-final of the US Open in 1977 and the last four of the French Open a year later – believes that is no longer the case.
“Look, in my opinion the difference between the two on clay hasn’t existed for a long time,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “A year ago, Jannik reached the final in Rome after returning from three months and lost the Roland Garros final by a hair’s breadth, failing to convert three match points.
“I’ll tell you more: in my opinion, Sinner is currently stronger than Alcaraz on clay, too.”
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Having faced each other six times in 2025 with Alcaraz winning four of those encounters, the Monte Carlo final was their first meeting this season.
Sinner has now also won their last two matches as he defeated the Spaniard 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 in the ATP Finals last November.
As things stand, they are both set to enter the Madrid Open, which gets underway on 22 April, the action then moves to Rome for the Italian Open from 6 May before the clay-court season comes to a conclusion at Roland Garros with the French Open starting on 24 May.
Barazzutti feels Alcaraz has lost confidence and could drop further behind his big rival if he doesn’t reverse the recent trend quickly.
“Right now, there’s one player who’s very confident, Sinner, and another who’s lost confidence and is a bit confused, and I’m referring to Alcaraz,” Barazzutti stated.
“In the final, Jannik played the important points better because he was mentally clearer and more aware of the tactical plan to execute.
“If the Spaniard doesn’t quickly reverse his trend and return to making the right choices, he’ll be forced to play catch-up in the next tournaments as well.
“But it’s true that great champions just need one click: Carlos can return to No 1 as early as this week in Barcelona, and if he manages to do so, he could even reset.”
