Jannik Sinner visited with the newly elected Pope Leo XIV last week, but was without a prayer as he fell to Carlos Alcaraz in the Italian Open final on Sunday, losing 6-7 1-6.

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

Carlos Alcaraz defeated Jannik Sinner 7-6 (5), 6-1 to win his first Italian Open on Sunday and add another big clay-court title to his résumé.