Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s respective performances in the 2025 Italian Open’s men’s singles final prompted Paul McNamee and Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs to share their opinions on what unfolded during the contest. Alcaraz won the match 7-6(5), 6-1 to clinch his seventh Masters 1000 title.
According to Australian former men’s doubles No. 1 Paul McNamee, Alcaraz produced a “master class” against Sinner on Foro Italico’s Center Court on Sunday, May 18. The 70-year-old took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote about the Spaniard’s superiority over the Italian on clay, suggesting that on the red dirt, the reigning singles No. 1 may never come out on top against Alcaraz.
“Alcaraz v Sinner demonstrated the stark difference that clay brings… the Chess Master v The Apprentice.. the 2nd set full of the subtleties of speed and height, the art of sliding, angles and drop shots… a Master Class, to which Sinner had, and may not, have an answer on clay,” McNamee wrote.
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Rennae Stubbs, another Australian who happens to be a former women's doubles No. 1, also chimed in with her analysis of Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's latest competitive encounter. Stubbs, who coached the legendary Serena Williams for the 2022 US Open, opined that Sinner's shot selection was wrong when he had a set point in the first set.
Similar to McNamee, Stubbs stated that the "variety" Alcaraz possesses is likely to make it incredibly difficult for Sinner to get wins over the Spaniard on clay.
"Sinner made a huge error going 4 that backhand down the line on his set point. Now u can see why the variety of shots & slightly better movement on clay will more often favor Carlos in this match up. U can’t out hit a great mover every point & his kick serve is so effective too," Stubbs wrote.
Another former tennis player who later transitioned to coaching and spearheaded several stars' rise to superstardom also reacted while he was tuned into Alcaraz and Sinner's final showdown in Rome.
"Carlos Alcaraz transcends the sport" - Andre Agassi and Coco Gauff's ex-coach Brad Gilbert
Former ATP No. 4 in singles, Brad Gilbert, who famously led Andre Agassi to six of his eight Major titles and more recently guided Coco Gauff to the 2023 US Open title, was also following the men's singles final at this year's Italian Open. The 63-year-old, clearly impressed by Carlos Alcaraz's display and the crowd support for him, took to X and wrote:
"Escape from Alcaraz transcends the sport 🎾 yesterday the crowd was massively for Jasmine (Paolini), Carlos has surprisingly good support today from Italian crowd"
Both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner are now set to shift their focus to the 2025 French Open. The Spaniard is the defending champion at Roland Garros, and based on what the world has seen so far from him on this year's European claycourt swing, he is bound to be the favorite in Paris.
