When Alcaraz suffered defeat to Sinner in the recent Wimbledon final – his first loss in any Grand Slam final – he was still full of praise for the Italian.
“I have to congratulate Jannik once again. It is really well deserved and an unbelievable two weeks for you here in London. For your team as well, I know there are a lot of family and friends that flew out for you. I am really happy for you,” he told the top seed on Centre Court.
The world No. 2 didn’t shy away from bigging up their rivalry either. He later suggested that nobody else on tour was showing the same level as they brought to their matches against one another.
And it’s not just their on-court competition that Alcaraz loves, as he has now revealed that he enjoys chatting to Sinner away from the court.
“Tennis is a unique sport that allows you to be great rivals on the court and, at the same time, maintain mutual respect,” the five-time Grand Slam champion told Gazzetta.
“Sinner and I are good friends; we can talk about many things off the court. I have great respect for him; he’s a great person; I’m sure we’ll always be able to maintain this relationship.”
It’s a surprising statement given that, just a few months ago, Alcaraz suggested they couldn’t be close.
After beating Sinner in a thrilling final at the ATP 500 in Beijing, he said: “Once we are on tour, travelling, at tournaments, on site, we are with our teams and on our own, so we don’t speak too much.
“But when we can, we talk a little bit besides tennis, about life. But not too much. It means we have a good relationship but we are not close friends. I think the respect we have puts us in a position that we have a really good relationship.”
Alcaraz also previously admitted that he did not reach out to Sinner while the Italian was serving a three-month ban earlier this year.
“I didn’t call him. I didn’t talk to him in the three months. But it wasn’t about if I was agreed or not. I mean, I was playing. I was in my feelings, as well,” the 22-year-old explained when Sinner returned in Rome.
But Alcaraz has maintained a good bond with Sinner since his comeback, and they have already faced one another three times. Alcaraz winning the Italian Open and French Open finals before the world No. 1 got him back at Wimbledon.
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Content Source: www.express.co.uk