“I still think about those couple of points”: Jannik Sinner opens up on crushing Roland Garros loss against Carlos Alcaraz

Jannik Sinner has broken his silence on the painful loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Roland Garros final, speaking a week later as he arrived in Germany for the Halle Open, where he will begin his title defense on Monday.

The World No. 1 reached his first French Open final, just weeks after returning to competition following a three-month break due to a doping-related suspension. Sinner played only two clay-court tournaments this year and finished with an impressive 11–2 record — with both defeats coming at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz: first in the Rome Open final, and then again in Paris.

Despite leaving Paris empty-handed, the Italian proved how much he has improved on clay, a surface that hasn't favoured him in the past. In the Roland Garros final, he squandered three match points in the third set and eventually lost in a tight fifth-set tiebreak.

“It was for sure a tough loss. Looking back, I still think about those couple of points. And it won’t stop here. I know that,” said the 23-year-old. “But in another way, I am happy to be here, I’m happy to start a new tournament – I think this helps me get back into match rhythm and let’s see how I’m gonna react. You can’t see the negative side, but you can still see the positive side.”

Sinner emphasized the positives from the clay swing, especially considering his performance on a surface that had challenged him in previous years: “I’ve never played tennis on clay like this. I went into Rome, and I made the final there. I played in Paris and made the final of a Grand Slam,” he said. “It’s amazing. The level we have played – me and Carlos – was extremely high, so I was happy to be a part of this.”

The Italian will compete in the Halle Open, which starts this Monday, where he is the first seed and thus has a first-round bye. He awaits in the second round for the winner between Alexandre Müller and Alexander Bublik. Sinner also entered the doubles draw, where he will partner with Lorenzo Sonego to gain rhythm on grass courts. They will debut against Alex Michelsen and Karen Khachanov.