ROME (AP) 鈥� Sure, is pleased to have the No. 1 ranking back.
His biggest takeaways from a victory over in the , though, were finally winning a big clay-court title and doing it by beating his biggest rival on his most challenging surface.
鈥淚t means a lot to me, because it means I鈥檓 progressing,鈥� Sinner said.
For Sinner, it was a first step toward achieving his main goal for 2026: winning the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam. That鈥檚 an achievement that Alcaraz completed when he won the in January 鈥� making him at 22 the youngest man to have held aloft all four major trophies.
鈥淲inning a big tournament on clay was one of our goals for this year so there鈥檚 no better way to start,鈥� said Simone Vagnozzi, who coaches the 24-year-old Sinner alongside Darren Cahill.
Sunday鈥檚 meeting was the first on clay between the top two men鈥檚 tennis players since Alcaraz saved three match points and came back to beat Sinner in a fifth-set tiebreaker in .
鈥淚鈥檓 not surprised,鈥� Alcaraz said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e already seen his level on this surface and he鈥檚 improving a lot year after year. He can win any tournament on any surface. He understands the game very well on clay.鈥�
No. 1 ranking could change weekly
While Alcaraz claimed this year鈥檚 first major in Australia, Sinner has now followed up his 鈥淪unshine Double鈥� of hard-court titles in Indian Wells, California, and Miami with another Masters series trophy. Sinner is on a 17-match winning streak during which he has dropped only one set 鈥� in the third round in Monte Carlo against Tomas Machac.
In the new rankings released Monday, Sinner moved 110 points ahead of Alcaraz, who had been No. 1 since November.
鈥淚t鈥檚 nice, obviously. I would be a liar to say anything else,鈥� Sinner said. 鈥淏ut it doesn鈥檛 change my thought process. I鈥檓 playing to win tournaments and Carlos and I are very close, so the rankings can change from one week to the next.
鈥淭here are two big Slams coming up, Paris and London. Let鈥檚 see where we are after those tournaments,鈥� Sinner added. 鈥淩ight now, I鈥檓 focusing more on those than on the ranking. But waking up again as No. 1 is pretty nice.鈥�
In a measure of how far ahead of the rest of the field Sinner and Alcaraz are, third-ranked Alexander Zverev trails Sinner by a whopping 7,795 points.
Alcaraz heads to Barcelona
When will Sinner and Alcaraz meet again? Well, the next Masters Series event is the Madrid Open starting next week but Sinner is not committing to that tournament.
鈥淣ow it鈥檚 important to rest,鈥� Sinner said. 鈥淪o now I鈥檒l take two or three days without even thinking about tennis and then we鈥檒l decide whether or not to play Madrid.鈥�
The Madrid Open and the Italian Open are the only Masters titles that Sinner hasn鈥檛 won and he is making the Rome tournament in May another of his priorities after losing before his home fans to Alcaraz in the Foro Italico final, too, last year upon his return from a three-month doping ban.
Alcaraz鈥檚 plan is to get back on court on home Spanish soil at this week鈥檚 Barcelona Open 鈥� where he can reclaim the No. 1 ranking if he wins the title since Sinner is not entered.
鈥淭he goal is to play the entire clay-court calendar. That was the plan last year, too, but unfortunately it wasn鈥檛 possible,鈥� Alcaraz said, referring to how he had to withdraw from Madrid in 2025 due to muscle injuries.
鈥淭his year I鈥檓 going to listen to my body much more, so of that means that I need to skip a tournament then that鈥檚 what I鈥檒l do. But if I feel OK, I鈥檒l play everything.鈥�
Sinner’s return position
While tactics were difficult to execute on a windy day in Monaco, Sinner found a solution to apply pressure on Alcaraz鈥檚 serve by stepping into the court often.
鈥淐ahill and I are trying to make Jannik more self-reliant,鈥� Vagnozzi said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 getting better at understanding when to try drop shots 鈥� which he鈥檚 also started hitting with his backhand by taking a hand off the racket. And then for the return of serve he鈥檚 mixing up his position more, which doesn鈥檛 provide any reference points to the opponents.鈥�
Now Sinner is entering his 67th career week at No. 1 鈥� one more week than Alcaraz’s total of 66.
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