Carlos Alcaraz scored a crushing victory over Jannik Sinner in the 2025 Italian Open final on Sunday (May 18), beating the Italian in straight sets. With the triumph, the Spaniard has made himself the clear favorite for the upcoming French Open.
Sinner and Alcaraz began Sunday’s final on equal footing, taking the first set to a tiebreaker. After a closely fought battle, Alcaraz sealed it 7-6(5) in his favor to move within one set of his maiden Italian Open title.
The second set, however, was a completely different story. With two straight breaks of serve, Carlos Alcaraz took an incredible 5-0 lead against the World No. 1 in front of his stunned countrymen. Although Sinner clawed one game back, it was too little too late, as Alcaraz cruised to a 7-6(5), 6-1 win on center court for his second big clay title of the season.
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The World No. 3 had previously won the Monte-Carlo Masters to start his campaign on clay, following which he finished runner-up at the Barcelona Open. After opting out of the Madrid Open due to injury, he has now returned to winning ways again just ahead of the French Open.
The win will also take the Spaniard to World No. 2 when the rankings are refreshed next week, leapfrogging Alexander Zverev who lost out to Lorenzo Musetti in the quarterfinals.
Although the German will play next week at the Hamburg Open, the seedings for Roland Garros will be decided based on the rankings next week. What that means is that Alcaraz and Sinner can only meet in the final in Paris, making for another exciting potential showdown.
What next for Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner after Italian Open final?
Following the Italian Open, both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner will have a week of rest before the French Open. Sinner was scheduled to play at the Hamburg Open but withdrew a few days ago. Alcaraz, meanwhile, was clear to enjoy a week of recovery before Roland Garros.
At the French Open, Alcaraz is the defending champion, having beaten Alexander Zverev in the final last year. It was his maiden Slam on clay and third overall, and also saw the Spaniard complete the Surface Slam -- winning a Slam on all three surfaces.
Thanks to his win in Rome, Carlos Alcaraz has now won three different Masters 1000 events on clay, joining a prestigious list including the likes of Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Only two other men have achived the same -- Marcelo Rios and Gustavo Kuerten.
