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Since the start of last year, Alcaraz is the only player to beat Sinner more than once and now he鈥檚 done it four straight times.

鈥淛ust proud about myself, the way that I approached the match mentally. Tactically think I did it pretty well from the first to the last point,鈥� Alcaraz said. “I maintained my level during the whole match.鈥�

Alcaraz鈥檚 victory before Sinner鈥檚 home fans at the Foro Italico snapped the Italian鈥檚 26-match winning streak, which stretched back to October 鈥� when Alcaraz beat him in the in a third-set tiebreaker. Alcaraz now leads the career series 7-4.

It was Sinner’s first tournament back after .

鈥淚鈥檓 just really happy to see Jannik back at this amazing level,鈥� Alcaraz said. 鈥淚鈥檓 sure it wasn鈥檛 easy for him coming back from three months without playing. Making the final here is something insane.鈥�

Alcaraz also solidified his status as the favorite to defend his title at the French Open, which starts next Sunday.

鈥淥n clay right now, you鈥檙e the best player,鈥� Sinner said.

Added Alcaraz, 鈥淏eating Jannik, winning Rome. I think both things mixed together give you a great confidence coming to Paris. I always say that the final is not about playing, the final is about winning, to go for it. I just repeated (that to) myself all the time.鈥�

Alcaraz spoils Sinner’s return

Sinner was playing his first tournament since he won his third Grand Slam title at the in January.

In February, Sinner agreed to a settlement with the World Anti-Doping Agency that , since the three-month suspension allowed him not to miss any Grand Slams, and come back at his home tournament.

Sinner said he and his team went through 鈥渢hree months that were anything but easy, so achieving this result already here is really big鈥� and that 鈥渨e should be really proud.”

He added: 鈥淲e鈥檙e bringing home a very special trophy, even if I wanted the other one.鈥�

Sinner was attempting to become the first home man to win the Italian Open since Adriano Panatta in 1976. He was also trying to complete a sweep of the Rome singles titles for Italy after on Saturday.

Paolini and partner Sara Errani also defended their women鈥檚 doubles title earlier Sunday, making Paolini the first woman since Monica Seles in 1990 to sweep Rome鈥檚 singles and doubles titles in the same year.

A large number of the 10,500 fans in Campo Centrale were decked out in orange 鈥� Sinner鈥檚 theme color 鈥� and they were chanting Sinner鈥檚 name before the match even began, and even after Sinner lost.

鈥淵ou gave me a lot of energy, lot of courage to be here on court, I tried with everything I had,鈥� Sinner told the crowd. “It was something very, very special. Thank you.鈥�

Sinner also cracked a joke about offering 鈥渟pecial thanks鈥� to his brother, Mark, 鈥渨ho instead of being here, decided to go to to watch Formula 1.鈥�

Sinner wasted 2 set points

Sinner wasted two set points on Alcaraz鈥檚 serve when he led 6-5 in the first set and then Alcaraz jumped ahead in the tiebreaker with two aces and held on to seal it before cruising in the second set.

On Alcaraz鈥檚 third match point, Sinner ran down a drop shot but Alcaraz was waiting for his reply and hit a stretch volley winner into the open court.

Alcaraz then held his hands out wide and flashed a wide smile.

Alcaraz hit 19 winners to Sinner’s seven and only had one more unforced error than his opponent 鈥� 31-30. Half of Sinner’s errors came from his backhand, which is usually his most dependable shot.

Alcaraz, a four-time Grand Slam champion, will move back up to No. 2 in the rankings on Monday after his third final in three clay-court events this season. He won the Monte Carlo Masters and finished runner-up in the Barcelona Open before withdrawing from the Madrid Open because of injury.

Having also won the Madrid Open in 2022 and 2023, Alcaraz became the fifth man to win all three Masters 1000 clay events after Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Gustavo Kuerten and Marcelo Rios.

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AP tennis: