Jannik Sinner lost the ATP world No. 1 ranking in September 2025 after losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the US Open final. Now, 217 days later, the Italian has once again risen to the top of the tennis world and claimed his first Masters clay-court title against the same rival. He defeated Alcaraz 7-6, 6-3 in the final of the Monte Carlo Masters. The Spaniard’s reign at the top had begun in November last year, maintaining it for 66 weeks, tying with Sinner at No.12. Still, the win meant more to Jannik than just rankings and a title.

“It means a lot to me. At the same time, the ranking is secondary. I’m very happy to win at least one big trophy on this surface. I haven’t done it before. It means a lot to me,” he said during his post-match on-court interview.

Sinner will be hoping to maintain a long reign at the top this time around. He had gotten dethroned last year after spending just one week by who else, but Alcaraz.

Coming to the match, both rivals put in a brilliant performance in the first set. The two looked very strong with their serves, and this resulted in the set going into a tiebreaker. But Sinner would end up edging it to take a valuable lead in the match.

After losing the first set, Carlos Alcaraz very well knew that he needed to start the second set strong. The latter managed to do exactly that and broke early to race to a 3-1 lead. However, the Italian maintained his composure and would go on to break Alcaraz’s serve twice to take the second set convincingly. When asked about his mindset during the second set, Sinner had quite a straightforward answer:

“I felt close on the return games. I had a feeling the new balls helped me. The ball change was at 2-1. I tried to stay there mentally. Trying to keep pushing. I felt a bit tired. I tried to keep up with the right mentality. Having this trophy with me now means a lot to me. It’s a completely different tournament, I come here, sleeping at home, and everything. It means a lot.”

 

 

 

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