Carlos Alcaraz makes feelings clear on Jannik Sinner – ‘Not going to lie’ | Tennis | Sport

Carlos Alcaraz has revealed just how much the presence of his biggest rival, Jannik Sinner, motivates him. The two multi-Grand Slam champions are in action at this week’s ATP 500 in Doha, both in their first appearances since the Australian Open, and are on a collision course to meet in the final.

Alcaraz and Sinner have already faced off 16 times in their young careers, with the Spanish superstar winning 10 of them. They were denied the chance to face off in the recent Aussie Open final as Novak Djokovic beat Sinner in the semis before losing to Alcaraz in the championship match. And the world No. 1 is already relishing the chance of a prospective meeting in Doha.

While some rivals may shy away from one another and prefer to face ‘easier’ opponents on paper, Alcaraz has made it clear that he loves the challenge of taking on Sinner and always views it as an extra incentive when the Italian is in the draw – and even believes it makes it easier for him to go deep in the tournament.

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After beating Arthur Rinderknech in his opening match at the Qatar Open, Alcaraz told AS: “I think having Jannik in the draw is always good. You always want to keep up. Hopefully, we can reach a final. Those are the moments you work for, to reach the later 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 later rounds, and that motivates me to play my best, to take it one day at a time and try to see my name in that final. And I hope I can play against him, because those are the matches that really make me improve.”

Alcaraz and Sinner both headline Wednesday’s night session in Doha, where the Spaniard takes on Valentin Royer, while the No. 2 seed meets Alexei Popyrin. Alcaraz had just 16 days between the Australian Open final and his opening match at the Qatar Open, but he felt good on the court as he beat Rinderknech 6-4 7-6(5).

“Well, I mean, it’s a few weeks since the last match that I played officially. I’m just really happy with the way that I’ve been practising. So by coming here and, you know, competing again, I was thinking that probably I was going to feel like, a little bit out of the feeling of the competition. But I’m just happy with everything that I’ve done today. It was a difficult one that I just got through,” the world No. 1 said after the match.

“I tried to just do the things that I just had to do, and then my coach told me that I had to do. I think that I did everything really well. You know, a few things that I really want to improve for the next round, but I’m just happy.”

Alcaraz lost in the quarter-finals here last year, dropping four games in a row as he suffered a 6-3 3-6 6-4 defeat to Jiri Lehecka. Sinner, meanwhile, is making his debut in Doha and beat Tomas Machac 6-1 6-4 in his opening match.

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