Daily Dose of Social Media: Alcaraz-Sinner moment melts hearts, Swiatek and Sabalenka raise intensity for Roland Garros

In a new Daily Dose of Social Media, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were the protagonists of the day after a remarkable Rome Open final that intensified their rivalry. The Spaniard took the title, but they equally showed their mutual appreciation after a friendly hug at the net at the end of the match.

On the other hand, the big stars are pointing towards a week of interlude on their way to Roland Garros. While Aryna Sabalenka is already at Philippe Chatrier preparing for the tournament, Elena Rybakina is in Strasbourg, her last stop looking to gain rhythm on clay after a couple of adverse results in Madrid and Rome.

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner shared a special greeting with smiles after the Spaniard secured the title at the Rome Open with a score of 7-6(5), 6-1, in a magnificent performance. Probably the two best players in the world – and the rivalry that currently captures the most attention – delivered a final worthy of the occasion at the Foro Italico, which ended with Alcaraz winning his 7th Masters 1000 title and his 4th consecutive victory against Sinner.

Beyond the rivalry, Sinner and Alcaraz have often shown their good relationship off the court, and their greeting at the net clearly demonstrated how well they get along, with an emotional hug and Sinner smiling despite the defeat on home soil. Alcaraz is starting to close the gap with Sinner in the ranking, although still more than 1,500 points behind and without the possibility of overtaking him in the coming weeks, as he defends a large number of points from his titles at Roland Garros and Wimbledon 2024.

The ATP 500 Hamburg Open began this Sunday with a couple of first-round matches, although the big names are still expected to make their debuts on Monday and Tuesday. Meanwhile, several of the stars participated in pre-tournament promotional activities, in which Andrey Rublev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, and Sebastian Baez gathered for a photoshoot before their respective debuts in the tournament.

In a funny moment, Rublev and Auger-Aliassime teamed up to learn the technique of rowing while navigating the Alster River, one of the great attractions of the German city of Hamburg. Rublev will debut this Monday against Damir Dzumhur, in one of the highlights of the day – along with the first seed Alexander Zverev. Meanwhile, Auger-Aliassime, Davidovich Fokina, and Baez will take to the court this Monday, seeking a victory that will give them confidence in this clay swing.

Aryna Sabalenka returned to the Philippe Chatrier, as she prepares for her return to Roland Garros, this time – probably – as the biggest favorite of the tournament. The Belarusian has had a remarkable preparation by reaching the final at the Stuttgart Open and winning the Madrid Open, totaling an 11-2 record in the clay swing. Unfortunately for the world No. 1, she suffered a surprise defeat in the Rome Open quarterfinals against 2024 Olympic gold medalist Zheng Qinwen, against whom she had a 6-0 head-to-head record, finally suffering her first loss at the hands of the Chinese player.

In any case, Sabalenka looks full of confidence, and her level of tennis makes her a significant contender, already as a more than proven player who can perform on clay courts just as well as on hard courts. Sabalenka defends a quarterfinal appearance from Roland Garros in 2024, and surely her expectations are much higher for this year, being the first seed of the tournament for the first time in her career.

Jasmine Paolini thanked the fans after fulfilling her dream – as she herself stated – by winning the WTA 1000 Rome Open title, becoming the first local player to lift the trophy in 40 years. The Italian defeated Coco Gauff in an incredible final 6-4, 6-2 and arrives at Roland Garros in top form, where a year ago she reached the final.

The new world No. 4 will look to confirm the high level she showed in Rome in Paris and will be one of the names to consider as a title contender. Paolini also had praise for Gauff after the American achieved back-to-back finals in Madrid and Rome, although she fell short of the title in both.

“I used to come here as a little girl just to watch… now I’m holding the trophy. What a dream. Thanks to my amazing team, family, friends & fans. Huge respect to Coco. And yes, we’ve still got the doubles final tomorrow… Forza!!” Paolini posted.

Elena Rybakina is another player who appeared on social media amidst her training sessions, although the former Wimbledon champion still has one last challenge before traveling to Roland Garros, as she will debut this Wednesday at the WTA 500 Strasbourg Open, where she is the 4th seed, and is still waiting to find out her opponent, who will be either qualifier Eva Lys or China's Xinyu Wang.

The Kazakh player seeks to build confidence after a couple of adverse results in the clay swing, with two wins and two losses, falling early in Rome and Madrid, both in the third round. Rybakina hopes to achieve some victories that will give her confidence before the French Open, where although she is not among the top seeds (12th), her name undoubtedly always commands respect as one of the favorites, being one of the players that the top seeds will surely want to avoid in an early match.