Sinner’s warm hug with Alcaraz at the net after the defeat suggests that the Italian was not talking about Alcaraz when he made those comments

Finally, someone has beaten world No 1 Jannik Sinner. Almost inevitably, the man to do it was Sinner’s great rival and fellow tennis giant Carlos Alcaraz, who has now extended his lead in their head-to-head meetings to 7-4.

Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner in the Italian Open final on Sunday. The Spaniard subdued Sinner with a tactical plan of classic clay court tennis.