According to the latest remarks shared by former Italian legend Paolo Bertolucci, Carlos Alcaraz’s mental toughness lags significantly behind that of rival Jannik Sinner.

Alcaraz’s Australian Open journey came to an unsatisfactory conclusion when Alexander Zverev easily defeated him in the quarterfinals. Sinner, on the other hand, went all out to win his first Grand Slam title.

In the opening moments of the Australian Open, Alcaraz looked strong. But against Zverev in the quarterfinal, he appeared to be lacking in creativity. With his strong serves, Zverev dominated Alcaraz in the opening two sets.

But in the Australian Open final, Sinner showed his resilience. After Daniil Medvedev won the first two sets with convincing ease, the Italian felt defeated and outmatched. However, from the third set on, Sinner turned the match around.

Bertolucci identified a weakness in the Spaniard’s strategy as a result of the striking difference between Sinner and Alcaraz.

Bertolucci stated his remarks about both young players and said: “In my opinion, Alcaraz is great technically, even physically, but mentally, he is light years away from Sinner. He looks for something else besides the point; many times he seems to be having fun and involving the public because his tennis is made up of special effects.”

Additionally, Bertolucci cautioned that Alcaraz’s preference for flair would ultimately hurt his performance. He added: “He is not satisfied with just winning the point; he wants to do it with a double somersault. They are beautiful things; they drive you crazy to watch, but sometimes they make you lose the matches. There are times when everything is easy and you can have fun. However, when it’s 3-3 in the third set, you need to go back to basics, and he has been lacking lately from this point of view.”

 

Jannik Sinner in 2024

Now ranked no.4 (career-high), Jannik played his last match on the 28^th of January when he beat world no.3 Daniil Medvedev 3-6 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-3 in the final of the Australian Open to win his 12^th

career title.

Presently, during this year the Italian has achieved a 7-0 match record. This year, Sinner clinched 1 title at the Australian Open.

Sinner is scheduled to play next in Marseille (Open 13 Provence). He will begin to play the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 5th of February.

Carlos Alcaraz in 2024

Now the world no.2, Alcaraz played his last match on the 24^th of January when he capitulated to world no.6 Alexander Zverev 6-1 6-3 6-7(2) 6-4 in the quarter of the Australian Open (draw).

During this season Carlos achieved a compiled 4-1 match record.

Alcaraz will compete next in Buenos Aires (Argentina Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 12th of February.

Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz clashed against each other 8 times. Their actual record is 4-4. The last time they played each other, Jannik Sinner won 7-6(4) 6-1 in the semifinal in Beijing (China Open) in October 2023.

You can see them in action in the following highlights.