Jannik Sinner is back on top of the tennis world. The 24-year-old Italian defeated great rival Carlos Alcaraz 7-6 (5), 6-3 in the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters final on Sunday, reclaiming the No. 1 ATP ranking and claiming his 14th career ‘Big Title’ in the process.
It is the fourth time the top ranking has exchanged hands between Sinner and Alcaraz over the past two years, with no other player coming close to breaking up the duopoly. Sinner now sits at 13,350 ranking points, with Alcaraz close behind at 13,240 and No. 3 Alexander Zverev a distant 5,595.
The Monte-Carlo title is Sinner’s third consecutive ‘Big Title,’ following victories at Indian Wells and Miami. In doing so, he joined Novak Djokovic (2015) as the only men to have claimed the first three ATP Masters 1000 titles of the season. He has now won four consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments, a streak dating back to last year’s Rolex Paris Masters, becoming just the second man to accomplish that feat alongside Djokovic and Rafael Nadal. Including the Nitto ATP Finals, Sinner has won five of the past six ‘Big Title’ events.
Sinner’s comeback has been nothing short of remarkable. When he was suspended for three months last year following a positive doping test, ultimately accepted as the result of contamination from a massage and an over-the-counter spray, he was barred from four ATP 1000 tournaments, earning zero ranking points from Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo and Madrid. This year, he has already banked 3,000 points from those same events, with Madrid still to come. He also made history along the way, becoming the first man ever to win the Sunshine Double of Indian Wells and Miami without dropping a set.
The win improves Sinner’s head-to-head record against Alcaraz to seven wins from 17 matches, with two consecutive victories over his rival, including a 7-6 (4), 7-5 result at last year’s ATP Finals. The pair entered the week tied at 66 career weeks each at No. 1, but Sinner is now set to pull clear.
With the Monte-Carlo title, Sinner has drawn level with Alcaraz on eight ATP Masters 1000 titles, placing them joint-second among active players behind Djokovic’s 40. He has also moved to within one ‘Big Title’ of Alcaraz overall, who leads 15-14 after opening the season with triumph at the Australian Open.
Alcaraz had seen the shift coming. “I’m going to lose No. 1 of the world. I don’t know if it’s going to be in this tournament or the next one,” he admitted earlier in the week. The math was against him, as he has 3,330 points to defend at Barcelona, Rome and the French Open, while Sinner holds just 1,950 in the same stretch.
The only Masters 1000 titles that have eluded Sinner remain Madrid and Rome, and both are next on the calendar.
