Carlos Alcaraz’s last hard-court loss against Jannik Sinner came all the way back in 2023, and it taught the Spaniard a lesson.
The two men collide in the Cincinnati Open Final as the World No. 1 race between Alcaraz and Sinner heats up before the US Open.
Fans shared a worry for Alcaraz ahead of the Sinner clash, but the Spaniard has an exceptional record against the World No. 1.
Alcaraz’s last hard-court loss to Sinner came at the Beijing Open in 2023, which forced the Spaniard to reflect on his game.
Carlos Alcaraz listed the things he had to ‘learn’ after Jannik Sinner loss in 2023
Sinner’s last win against Alcaraz on hard-court came during the semi-final stages of the Beijing Open in 2023.
After the loss, the five-time Grand Slam champion told ATP Tour that Sinner forced him to “change my game a little bit.”
“I couldn’t do what I always did, I tried to play deeper, but I couldn’t,” reflected Alcaraz after his straight sets loss to Sinner.
“I tried to play with another tactic, but it didn’t go well in that part either,” added Sinner. “This is another thing I’ll have to learn if I want to beat Jannik.
“Then in the second set I was mentally out [of it], I complained a lot. It’s really hard to play your best if you’re mad at yourself. That’s what happened.”
Alcaraz clearly took the lessons he learned from his Beijing Open defeat as he won his next five meetings against Sinner.
The Spaniard defeated Sinner at two ATP 1000 events, Beijing 2024, and twice at Roland Garros before losing the 2025 Wimbledon final to the Italian.
Carlos Alcaraz’s impressive hard-court record against Jannik Sinner
Alcaraz has won eight of his 13 meetings against Sinner and the Spaniard has been particularly impressive on hard-court.
The World No. 2 has beaten Sinner five times on hard-court, including victories at the US Open and Indian Wells.
That’s in stark contrast to Sinner’s record on hard-court against Alcaraz, with the Italian boasting just two wins against the Spaniard.
Both of those wins came in 2023, at the aforementioned Beijing Open and the Miami Open.