Alcaraz sinks Sinner in Rome, captures seventh Masters 1000 title

Carlos Alcaraz was in no mood for an Italian fairytale on Sunday at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, where he soared past home favourite Jannik Sinner to claim his seventh ATP Masters 1000 title.

The 22-year-old Spaniard delivered a classy display to prevail 7-6(5), 6-1 and snap the Italian’s 26-match winning streak. Alcaraz saved two set points in an absorbing opener before carrying that momentum through a one-hour, 44-minute victory to claim his 19th tour-level trophy, tying Sinner for the most among players born in the 2000s.

“I’m just really happy to get my first Rome [title], hopefully it’s not going to be the last one,” said Alcaraz. “The first thing I want to say is that I’m just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level. I’m sure it wasn’t easy for him coming back after three months and making the final of a Masters 1000 in his first tournament [back]. It’s something insane, so I have to congratulate him.

“I’m proud of myself, with the way I approached the match mentally. Tactically, I think I played pretty well from the first point until the last one. I didn’t do a rollercoaster… I maintained my good level throughout the whole match, so I’m really proud about everything I did today.”

VENI, VIDI, VICI 👑@carlosalcaraz snaps Sinner's 26-match winning streak, 7-6(5) 6-1 to capture his first title in Rome!@InteBNLdItalia | #IBI25 pic.twitter.com/xlbVCAcN3x

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 18, 2025

By improving to 7-4 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Sinner, Alcaraz became the first player to claim three ATP Tour titles this season, having triumphed in Rotterdam and Monte-Carlo. Alcaraz, who owns a Tour-leading 30 wins in 2025, is just the fifth man to win all three clay-court ATP Masters 1000 events, joining Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Kuerten and Marcelo Rios.

The No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Sinner was competing in his first event since winning the Australian Open in January and was aiming to become the first male Italian champion in Rome since Adriano Panatta in 1976. Yet he was unable to withstand Alcaraz once the Spaniard had found his rhythm, and will be forced to rue the misplaced backhand he struck on his second set point on return at 6-5, 30/40 in the opener.

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Alcaraz was forced to withdraw from the Masters 1000 in Madrid due to an adductor injury, but quickly returned to form in Rome, where he dropped just one set en route to the title. Now 27-2 on clay since last May, Alcaraz will head to Roland Garros for his title defence exuding confidence.

“All eyes are on Paris right now, on Roland Garros,” said Alcaraz. “Beating Jannik, winning Rome, both things mix together and give [me] great confidence going to Paris. I always say ‘The final is not about playing, the final is about winning’. I just repeat [that] approach everytime I play a final.”

While Alcaraz’s use of variation has been pivotal to his clay-court prowess in recent times, he also found comfort behind his serve during Sunday’s final. The Spaniard dropped just six of 27 first-serve points in the opening set, according to Infosys ATP Stats, and saved each of the break points he faced, which doubled as set points.

After ending Sinner’s 24-set streak against Top 10 players, Alcaraz carried his momentum into a watertight second set, during which he outlasted the Italian from the baseline. Alcaraz deployed a series of dazzling defensive groundstrokes as well as trademark drop shots en route to his fourth consecutive victory over Sinner.

Sinner defeated Madrid champion Ruud in the quarter-finals for the loss of just one game, but was unable to maintain the same level against Alcaraz. The 23-year-old can, however, reflect on a strong showing in the capital, where he picked up pace in his return to action.

"[The] first set for sure was a little bit of a game-changer. But talking generally, [I am] very happy about this tournament,” Sinner said. “It gives me hopefully confidence to play some good tennis also in Paris. Let's see what's coming out there.

“But after three months, coming here, making this result means a lot to me, a lot to my team also. We worked a lot to be here."