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Alcaraz 6-6 Sinner* Given a look at a second serve, Alcaraz will be disappointed to swat a backhand return long. But he immediately gets another go, stepping in, and this time, the return is decent, followed by a drive a backhand to the corner which sets up a forehand winner to the opposite side. Sinner, though, responds with a service winner … only to go down the line to the forehand, offering space if Alcaraz goes cross … and he hooks a beauty of a winner to make 30-all. Naturally, a service winner follows but then, out of nowhere, Alcaraz disburses his first drop of the night, disguised like Transfer in Willy Fogg, and when the next return is good enough to incite a defensive response, the Spaniard puts away a volley to raise set point. Here we go! Oh, and Sinner misses his first serve, so goes again without taking much power off – that’s a brave call but the right call, and Alcaraz can’t get it back; deuce. another big serve follows, a forehand winner behind it, then a service winner and, as we thought, we go to a breaker.
*Alcaraz 6-5 Sinner A love hold and Alcaraz’s hammy looks OK; Sinner must now serve to force a breaker.
“I have been following this sport from the late 70s,” begins Krishnamoorthy V, “and each time I find a great pair with some out of the world hitting, and convince myself that thisbisbthe best, tgen comes the next pair.
Borg - McEnroe, Lendl - Wilander, Becker - Edberg, Sampras - Agassi, Federer- Nadal and now Sinner - Alcaraz and you can easily insert Djokovic anywhere in the last 23 years (still counting)
What you said in the preamble about Alcaraz is true for most of these athletes – physics and biology do not apply to these. There were tournaments when I am sure I have consumed more liquid than these players. Hats off.”
I don’t think I’ve seen a player with more inventive ways to win points since McEnroe; Edberg and Federer had hands, obviously, but most of the time you knew what shot they’d try and play, whereas Alcaraz invents them on the fly.
Alcaraz 5-5 Sinner* Alcaraz accepts a massage and, from courtside, Laura Robson tells us that Sinner’s box are on their feet pretty much every time he wins a point; they know he can’t really afford to lose on his favourite surface, given what happened at Flushing Meadows. That also explains why the champ looked nervous at the start – he’s got more to lose here – and, with Alcaraz running to his mark, treatment over, he must serve to say in the set. A brutal ace makes 15-0 and a service winner doubles the advantage then, at 40-0, a forehand makes 40-15 and a double intensifies the situation. So of course Sinner splatters an ace out wide, and these two are so good they’re cancelling each other out.
*Alcaraz 5-4 Sinner At 15-0, Alcaraz nets a backhand, and by the standard, this is a chance for Sinner. In comms, Tim notes that at the end of the last game, the Spaniard was shaking out a leg, then at 30-15, the champ shapes to go cross from centre, instead clouting a winner cross and on to the line. So of course Alcaraz finds a wrong-footing forehand winner of his own, breaking the sideline thanks to a terrific angle, and a monster to the corner settling the game. Oh, but at change of ends, he calls for the trainer, appearing to cite a hamstring issue; let’s hope it’s just tightness or a twinge.
Alcaraz 4-4 Sinner* A decent return from Alcaraz; a backhands winner, crushed cross-court, from Sinner. An ace follows, then a return into the net, and increasingly, it looks like this match will be settled by a point here or there in a tiebreak here or there; as I type, Sinner secures his hold to 15 with a serve out wide and overhead at net.
*Alcaraz 4-3 Sinner A service winner, at 133mph, makes 30-0, but Sinner retorts with a backhand so good, Alcaraz makes a that face of approval he does, scrunching and protruding lips, then nods at the Italian’s box. Another service winner follows, then a ball out wide and a pataway putaway at net. As we near the business end of the set, there’s nothing between these two freaks of nature.
Alcaraz 3-3 Sinner* We’ve yet to enjoy a break point, but there’s a sense we’re warming up, Sinner leaping into a forehand but, then caught at the net when letting go a poor volley, he does well Alcaraz opts for lob not pass; the overhead putaway is simple. But an overhit backhand levels the game, his six unforced off that wing; this next point feels like a biggun. And it goes to Sinner, a wrong-footing forehand doing the trick; a serve +1 follows for 40-15, then a rally featuring loopier balls, until the champ astonishes a forehand down the line to secure his hold.
*Alcaraz 3-2 Sinner Successive shots on to the baseline earn Sinner 15-all and it’s soon 15-30, Alcaraz levelling the game with a forehand to the corner. And from there, we wind up at deuce, a magical backhand, ushered down the line, giving the Spaniard advantage, converted when Sinner needlessly thwacks long.
Alcaraz 2-2 Sinner* A delivery into the net and a chance for Alcaraz, confiscated by way of booming forehands. An ace down he T follows, and that’s the hold, secured after 11 minutes stewing at deuce.
Alcaraz 2-1 Sinner* Alcaraz practises his golf swing then gets back to rehearsing groundstrokes and we’re almost ready to resume, Sinner serving at deuce.
Alcaraz 2-1 Sinner* Good news: the man getting the attention is fine.
Alcaraz 2-1 Sinner* Sinner might actually appreciate the pause to refocus, because he’s not yet at ease, but we might be here a while. Someone died earlier in the week, but hopefully this isn’t as serious.
Alcaraz 2-1 Sinner* Alcaraz is going a pretty good job of getting Sinner’s serve back into play, but he’s making forehand errors – as he does for 15-0, an ace compounding the situation. A forehand clobbered wide takes us to 30-15, then one long levels the game, pressure building on the champ, who looks nervously irritated; can he respond? Well, he misses his first serve and this is a chance for the break, but a protracted rally, fluctuating both ways, ends when Alcaraz nets. Oh, and an untimely double takes us to deuce; I’ve not seen Sinner this mentally unsettled in some time, but someone in the crowd has been taken ill, so’ we’ll pause until they’re sorted; godpseed.
*Alcaraz 2-1 Sinner Sinner goes long on the forehand, then cracks another to the corner, ball spinning away … and somehow Alcaraz, on the strech, flaps a winner down the line. That is ridiculous behaviour, and the love hold is quickly secured, only one point taken against serve in our three games so far.
Alcaraz 1-1 Sinner* Down 15-0, Alcaraz pounds a fine return on to the basline, only to net an inside-outer when ahead on the rally. He’ll be annoyed, but gratified he was able to take control … for as long as it takes for Sinner to annihilate and ace down the T. That’s 40-0, and a big serve +1 is enough to level us up.
*Alcaraz 1-o Sinner (*denotes server) Alcaraz overhits wide for 15-all, but a wrong-footing forehand takes him ahead again then, offered a look at a second serve, Sinner’s down-the-line return is wide. A backhand into the net then seals the hold and I’m intrigued to see how the next game goes: Alcaraz’s best chance of breaking might be before the champ grooves.
Alcaraz to serve, ready … play.
So who’s going to win? Every time I think about it and I’ve done that a lot, I go Sinner, then overrule myself with Alcaraz because I just can’t go against his x-factor. I think he’ll find a way, I just don’t know what it is.
As world no 2, Sinner, the defending champion, is called out first, and the crowd go meshugge. Alcaraz is greeted politely, but wait till he misses a first serve or nets an overhead.
In the tunnel, the players limber up, then Sinner leads off as they walk towards court. The anticipation is painful, but here we go….
We’ve got three lads singing it, but let’s be real, this isn’t best experienced with soft, tuneful voices; it needs volume, numbers and aggression.
Time for the Italian anthem. Tuuuuuune!
An exciting variable tonight: Sinner is playing at home. The Turin crowd will be partial in the extreme, the atmosphere steaming, and much as I’m sure Alcaraz can handle it, he’s not used to it.
The problem Alcaraz has, specifically on this surface, is Sinner’s serve; the return is taken out of the equation so often it’s almost impossible to create a breaking opportunity. I’d not be surprised to see three tiebreakers tonight, because Alcaraz is serving well too and, in New York, produced perhaps the best performance of his career in that aspect.
These two have met five times in 2025; the Wimbledon final is Sinner’s only win. But the reason Calv thinks he’ll win indoors is that he hits the harder, cleaner shots and, with no interference from the elements or the surface, he can merrily thwack away with no fears.
I do, though, wonder if either will attack the other’s backhand, and how often Alcaraz can haul Sinner to the net. I’m sure Sinner will to plant feet on the baseline and hit to the corners, down the line; Alcaraz will be a bit more flexible, looking to conjure angles both line and cross.
So what of our match this evening? Well, Coach Calv reckons there’s never really any strategy when these two meet because they’re both so good. “No major tactical battle. They’ll both hit hard, whoever hits it better wins. Indoors, I think Sinner takes it.”
Henry, by the way, is a lovely man it was pleasure to interview earlier this year. He got engaged the other day; I daresay he’s had worse weeks, as this piece reveals.
Earlier this afternoon, a right result for the GBG. Regular readers will be familiar with Coach Calvin Betton, whose insights are so informative and so much better than what you get elsewhere. Well, Henry Patten, his charge, along with Harri Heliovvara, won this tournament’s doubles competition, beating Neal Skupski and Joe Salisbury 5 and 3.
In the absence of Premier League football, it’s been an amazing week of sport: this tournament has been a complete banger, featuring some of the best tennis we’ve seen this year. In particular, Fritz v Alcaraz, De Minaur v Musetti and De Minaur v Fritz were fantastic; the Grand Slam of Darts has been great, in particular Luke Humphries’ nine-darter to clinch victory against Michael Smith and his knockout wins over Smith then Gerwyn Price; and the Champion of Champions snooker, one of the best tournaments on the calendar, has featured some terrific contests, in particular Kyren Wilson’s defeat to Zhao Xintong. We are blessed.
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Preamble
Buonasera and welcome to the ATP Finals 2025 – day eight!
We play sport for lots of reasons, central among them because we don’t what’s going to happen; for something a bit less predictable than the trudge through everyday life. But there are times we know exactly what will eventuate, finding thrill in a march to the inevitable through the joy of watching players too good for the inspire helpless anguish in those desperately seeking to compete. Well, this competition – and men’s tennis in general – is giving us both
When we started here, last Sunday afternoon, it was impossible to conceive of a final that didn’t pit Carlos Alcaraz against Jannik Sinner – every competition both have entered this year, one has won, and between them they’ve taken eight grand slam titles in a row, contesting the last three finals. They are wonderful, they are inevitable, and they are – despite their affirming amity and meritorious menschlichkeit – vicious, remorseless killers.
But now we have our predictable final, we’ve not a clue how it’ll shake out. On the one hand, Sinner is unbeaten in 30 indoor matches, having played just six tie-breaks and three deciders. Last year, he won this title without dropping a set, never losing more than four games in any one, while this term he’s not even been broken, devastatingly competent in all aspects of the game.
Alcaraz, though, is not subject to the same laws of physics and biology which govern the rest of us, able to bend nature to his will in a way that is almost suspicious. When he lost convincingly at Wimbledon, it seemed like a separation had taken place, but then in New York he delivered a performance of such emphatic superiority that it felt like he was taking the game beyond where Sinner can go. If he wins tonight, on this surface, the statement will resonate louder than the trophy; if Sinner wins tonight, he’ll reassert as the better man in predictable conditions; and whatever happens, it’ll be a lot, lot better than anything else the world has planned for us today.
Play: 6pm local, 5pm GMT.
