Jannik Sinner expresses his true feelings towards rival Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner has lifted the lid on his relationship with Carlos Alcaraz, with the two young tennis stars already forming a great rivalry that has seen them face each other 10 times
by Matthew Cooper · The MirrorJannik Sinner has opened up about his relationship with his rival Carlos Alcaraz after the world No. 2 insisted the pair are "not close friends".
Sinner and Alcaraz have faced each other 10 times since 2021, with their most recent meeting seeing Alcaraz emerge victorious in the China Open final earlier this month. They then flew to Shanghai together for the Shanghai Masters, but Alcaraz was quick to respond to suggestions of friendship.
And Sinner has now responded to Alcaraz's comments, admitting the pair are "quite similar as human beings off the court" and crediting his rival for the way his success "pushes me to do better". When asked how difficult it can be for rivals to be friends, Sinner replied: "Well, I feel like that for us it's quite easy, no, because we are, I feel like we are quite similar as human beings off the court.
"On the court we are a bit different, because that's normal, that's our nature. But, you know, off court, I listen to him, I have the feeling that he likes to surround himself with the close people, which I do. "Yeah, I mean it's, for us, how we live is very normal, let's say, you know. Then, obviously, on the court we try to beat, we try to put on a big fight, you know, like we always do and we always try.
"Then at least he pushes me to do better, you know, which is something good, where then I try to improve my game in the next days or, you know, in the off-season, you know, you're going to practice for that. Off the court, you know, we are quite similar." Although Alcaraz says he and Sinner are "not close friends", he does admit the pair have a "really good relationship". The Spaniard said: "Well, we don't talk too much when we are around, obviously.
"We have a really good relationship off the court as well. I think we both respect each other a lot, as a player, as a person, but once we are on tour travelling, you know, during tournaments when we are on site, we are with our team on our own, so we don't speak too much. When we can, we talk a little bit besides tennis, about life a little bit, but not too much. We have a good relationship, but we are not close friends, you know, but I think the respect that we have, you know, put us in a position that we have a really good relationship."
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