Jannik Sinner says ‘I’m not at Carlos Alcaraz’s level’ after reaching Madrid Open final | Tennis | Sport

Jannik Sinner can’t stop winning right now. The world No. 1 is through to a maiden Madrid Open final after beating Arthur Fils 6-2 6-4 on Friday afternoon. Neither man had lost a match on clay so far this year – Sinner was crowned the Monte Carlo Masters champion last month, while Fils lifted the trophy in Barcelona before heading to Madrid.

But Fils was no match for the top seed, who has been learning to adapt to the altitude and tricky conditions at the Caja Magica all week, bringing out some dropshots to catch his opponents off guard. The dropshot is something of a Carlos Alcaraz signature, but they’ve been key for Sinner during the clay swing, and he’s made it no secret that he’s been working on them.

However, the world No. 1 still believes that his Spanish rival is a level above him when it comes to mastering the dropshot. “It’s definitely a part of my game where I’m trying to improve, and I try to use it in the right time,” Sinner explained.

“So, yeah, definitely here it’s a little bit more difficult, the ball flies a little bit more. But I’m at the moment very happy how I’m using it. Also, from the backhand side, I tried to mix it up in a good way in important moments. It has been quite efficient, yeah, up until now.

“Of course, I’m definitely not at the level of Carlos, that’s for sure. I’m still trying, you know. It’s good for my game, trying to mix it up.”

Sinner might not be on Alcaraz’s level with his dropshot, but by beating Fils in the semi-finals, he’s just achieved something that only the Big Three had previously managed. The Italian became the fourth man to reach the final of all nine Masters 1000 tournaments since the series began in 1990, joining Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.

And the 24-year-old is still in with a shot of becoming the first man to lift the title at five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments. He won the Paris Masters at the end of 2025 and has won the first three of this season in Indian Wells, Miami, and Monte Carlo.

Sinner will face either Alexander Zverev or Alexander Blockx in Sunday’s final, but he’s not thinking about it just yet. “First, I’m happy about today. Tomorrow is a relax day, and I don’t think too much about the final ahead,” he explained.

“I’m of course very happy to play first final here. It means a lot to me. It has been an amazing tournament again. But whatever comes out Sunday, in any case it has been a great tournament again.”

Sinner has also been playing a lot of tennis. He hasn’t lost a match since February, and will have little time to recover before turning his attention to his home tournament, the Italian Open, next week, and then to the French Open at the end of the month.

“For me, I’m trying to recover very much in the night sleep. This night has been a very good sleep for me, a lot of hours, and felt quite fresh this morning. But yeah, look, I’ve played a lot in the last one and a half months, going very, very deep in tournaments,” he said.

“It’s a good sign, of course, and at the same time, you tend to get a little bit more tired. I think and I believe, when you play a big match, semi-finals, quarter-finals, finals, you know, there is also adrenaline a little bit what pushes me. And then in between here and Rome, I try to recover again as much [as I can], and then we see.”

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