‘Aim to maybe even lose’: Sinner’s eye-popping plan to win the Alcaraz war

Jannik Sinner is most often likened to Novak Djokovic as a dominant baseliner capable of wearing opponents down with relentless accuracy.

But last year’s US Open final was Sinner’s Roger Federer moment. Carlos Alcaraz is to Sinner who Rafael Nadal was to Federer. Before Djokovic transformed into a grand slam legend, Federer routinely destroyed almost everyone but Nadal.

What worked wonderfully against the rest of the tour was regularly not good enough when Federer faced Nadal, who won 24 of his 40 contests with “the Swiss Express”.

That head-to-head was even more lopsided until Federer won seven of their last eight meetings.

Sinner’s maiden Wimbledon triumph over Alcaraz in July sent the Spaniard into introspection. In fact, he devoted a fortnight before the Cincinnati Masters – his next tournament, not even a month later – honing specific skills and tactics to beat Sinner.

The tables had turned viciously by the time Alcaraz finished with Sinner in New York in September, where he methodically demolished him, 6-2, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Alcaraz dished up a dazzling cocktail of shots, from different variations of backhand slices, to high-rolling forehands – and a dedication to ripping crosscourt forehands to expose Sinner’s preference of parking on the advantage side of the court.

It was all designed not to give Sinner any rhythm.

“I was very predictable today on court, [whereas] he changed up the game,” Sinner said.

“That’s also his style of play. Now, it’s going to be on me if I want to make changes or not. We are going to work on that … I’m going to aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but trying to do some changes, to be a bit more unpredictable.”

Sinner won 131 matches and lost only 12 across the past two years. Seven of those losses were to Alcaraz, who lost just twice to his four-time grand slam-winning rival. Alcaraz leads 10-6 overall.

Sinner rebounded after the US Open to defeat Alcaraz in two tight sets at the ATP Finals in Turin in November, but the true test will be when they next face off in a grand slam.

The tennis titans each have more than double as many ranking points as world No.3 Alexander Zverev, have shared the past eight major titles, and fought out the past three slam deciders.

The “Sincaraz” rivalry overshadows the sport. Thanasi Kokkinakis said the pair were “head and shoulders” above the rest.

The only major final they have not contested is the Australian Open, where Alcaraz has never ventured beyond the quarter-finals. He can complete a career grand slam if he triumphs at Melbourne Park, while Sinner needs the Roland-Garros crown to do the same.

At 22, Alcaraz would be the youngest man in the open era to achieve the feat, trumping countryman Nadal, who was 24 when he captured the 2010 US Open title to complete his grand slam set.

Alcaraz joked on Saturday that he and Sinner could trade to help one another achieve tennis immortality.

“Obviously, to complete the career grand slam is something amazing to do,” Alcaraz said. “To be able to be the youngest to have done it [would] be even better.”

However, to do so, Alcaraz will almost certainly need to dethrone Sinner, who won the past two Australian Open championships.

The differences might be subtle, but Sinner plans to unveil a modified version of himself – mostly with Alcaraz in mind – as he hinted at in the aftermath of his US Open reality check.

“We worked a lot [in the off-season] on trying to make the transition to the net,” Sinner said. “We changed a couple of things on serve. But [they’re] all small details. When you are at the top level, the small details make the difference.”

Alcaraz continues to tweak, too. His remodelled serve is already being compared to Djokovic’s delivery, although he laughed off the suggestion that was deliberate.

The most significant change for the world No.1 is not technical but rather in his team.

Alcaraz announced in December that he was splitting with 2003 Roland-Garros champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, who coached the superstar Spaniard for seven years since he was 15.

Whether that has any detrimental effect on Alcaraz is among the top storylines at this year’s Australian Open and beyond.

There has been speculation about the reasons, from the financial terms to where Alcaraz wanted to train, but Saturday in Melbourne was the first time he fielded questions. His sombre tone and body language contrasted with his usual bubbly nature.

“It is something we just decide,” Alcaraz said.

“I think [this was a] chapter of life that has to end. I’m really grateful for the seven years I’ve been with Juan Carlos. I learned a lot. Probably thanks to him, I’m the player that I am right now.”

The Alcaraz-Sinner era began so quickly that it overlapped with the end of Djokovic’s prime. Djokovic’s last four grand slam titles between 2022-23 flanked Alcaraz’s first two.

Djokovic also beat Alcaraz to win Olympic gold in Tokyo two years ago, and repeated the dose at last year’s Australian Open, but the younger star exacted revenge in the US Open semi-finals.

Sinner and Alcaraz are so far above most of their rivals that they operate their own way and appear to tailor their approach based on the other.

Neither played a lead-in tournament to the Australian Open, but both scored almost $3.5 million to compete in a light-hearted exhibition against each other in South Korea on January 11.

Their bromance is endlessly curious, given their captivating on-court rivalry, and another bout awaits on Rod Laver Arena. It is one venue that Sinner can claim far greater success than Alcaraz, but the latter is making no secret of his motivation this time around.

“This is my main goal this year,” Alcaraz said. “I’m hungry for the title. I’m excited for the tournament to begin.”

Read more on the Australian Open

• The three moments that show 44-year-old Federer has still got it
• From Boom Boom to the big house: An exclusive interview with Boris Becker
• Your guide to the Australian Open
• Behind Djokovic’s rocky relationship with Australia

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