Sinner wins Paris to set up Turin showdown with Alcaraz

The hard-hitting Italian never dropped a set all fortnight, beating a rejuvenated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6 in a highly competitive final. His overall performance in Paris was astonishing, conceding the fewest number of games for a champion since the event converted to hard courts back in 2007. The result puts him on course to rival Alcaraz for the year-end No.1 ranking. Defending ATP Finals champ Sinner will be defending more points in Turin, meaning Alcaraz still has destiny on his racquet (the Spaniard needs to go unbeaten in his round-robin matches or reach the final with one round-robin win to claim the year-end crown). But there is certainly a path for Sinner. And I wouldn’t put it past him based on current indoor form.

Indoor Sinner

Sinner’s comprehensive Paris triumph means he has won a sensational 26 successive matches on indoor hardcourts (dating back to the 2023 Davis Cup Finals). Arguably the purest ball-striker in world tennis, Sinner looks practically unbeatable in indoor conditions. Indoor arenas feed into his robotic ball-striking blueprint, eliminating some of the pesky side-effects found in outdoor tennis (where things tend to get a bit more cerebral). Where does he stack up in the all-time indoor hardcourt streaks?

1. John McEnroe 47 (1978-87)
2. Novak Djokovic 35 (2012-2015)
3. Roger Federer 33 (2004-2007)
4. Ivan Lendl 32 (1980-1983)
5. *Jannik Sinner 26 (2023- present)

So, he still has some way to go to emulate the tennis brat’s carpet-era record. In fact, he wouldn’t advance up that list if he were to win all his Turin matches (he would still trail Lendl by one match). He would probably have to wait till next year’s Rotterdam Open to make progress on that front.

Catching up to Alcaraz in Big Titles

This is a ‘race’ that has started to generate more buzz in recent seasons (probably at the insistence of Andy Murray enthusiasts). I’m obviously referring to the so-called ‘Big Titles’ ranking, comprising of Grand Slams, Masters events, year-end ATP Finals and the Olympics.

Big Titles Leaders since 1990

72- Novak Djokovic (24 slams, 40 Masters, 7 ATP Finals, 1 Olympic Gold)
59- Rafael Nadal (22 slams, 36 Masters, 1 Olympic Gold)
54- Roger Federer (20 slams, 28 Masters, 6 ATP Finals)
30- Pete Sampras (14 slams, 11 Masters, 5 ATP Finals)
27- Andre Agassi (8 slams, 17 Masters)
20- Andy Murray (3 slams, 14 Masters, 1 ATP Finals, 2 Olympic Golds)
14- Carlos Alcaraz (6 slams, 8 Masters)
10- Jannik Sinner (4 slams, 5 Masters, 1 ATP Finals)
10- Alex Zverev (7 Masters, 2 ATP Finals, 1 Olympic Gold)

Djokovic has a dominant lead in this combined chart, owning a barely believable 72 ‘big’ titles. Let’s be real, as big as the Masters events are, players have increasingly started to tailor their schedules around peaking during those four two-week Grand Slam windows. Sure, Murray currently sits 6th on the list of Big Title’ winners since 1990. But I don’t think anyone would really put him in the same category as Carlos Alcaraz (who is currently six Big Titles behind the Scot). I think Alex Zverev would give up five of those Masters titles to have squeezed past Alcaraz in the 2024 French Open final. In any event, Sinner is now within four of Alcaraz in this convoluted honour’s board.

Who will win Career Slam first?

This is a fascinating question. Reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz is going to have a chance to complete the career slam in Melbourne in a few months’ time. He should feel confident having emphatically beaten the Italian in the New York final. However, Sinner is a two-time defending Aussie Open champ and has looked as dominant there as anyone has on any surface since Rafa in Paris. Sinner will have the chance to complete his Grand Slam in Paris (where he lost in a five-set epic to Alcaraz last year). Alcaraz is yet to reach an Aussie Open final, struggling somewhat with the brisker conditions. If I had to put down money on who gets the job done first: I would back Sinner,