Measured and pragmatic, Jannik Sinner could see both positives and negatives after his five-set defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in Friday’s Roland Garros semifinals.
The ninth meeting in this burgeoning rivalry between the ATP’s two brightest young stars, Alcaraz nudged ahead 5-4 in the series with a 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 triumph.
For Alcaraz, it was a satisfying script-flip after losing a tension-filled semifinal to Novak Djokovic at last year’s tournament.
Sinner, meanwhile, was left ruing an unconverted two-sets-to-one lead, yet feeling buoyant about what had transpired in Paris – and what was to come.
“For sure I'm going to rest the body a little bit, because from doing nothing for nearly three weeks to reaching a point of playing four hours, I could have never expect that. So that's positive for me,” said Sinner, who was forced to skip Rome due to a hip injury then arrived at Roland Garros under a significant injury cloud.
“Taking care of the body, for sure, is the main priority. And then trying to be ready for the grass season.
“Obviously disappointed how it ended (today against Alcaraz), but it's part of my growing and the process.
“Now I'm just looking forward to improve, to trying to do my best I can, and then we see what I can do in the future here in this tournament.
“If we watch the positive side, I have improved from last year, for sure.”
Sinner has indeed progressed significantly compared with this time last year, when he fell in the second round of Roland Garros to Daniel Altmaier.
The 22-year-old Italian will next week become the sport’s newest world No.1, and ever since a fourth-round loss at last year’s US Open, he has been the game’s best-performed player.
In the past eight months he has won 53 of 58 matches, including his first major singles title at Australian Open 2024.
By reaching his first semifinal Roland Garros, he extended his Grand Slam winning streak to 12 matches, and was just a set away from improving that further.
Although an avid tennis-watcher, Sinner admitted seeing Alcaraz take on Zverev in the final would be tough, noting: “Especially when you play and then lose in the semis, it hurts, because you know that you could be there.”
Yet Alcaraz simultaneously serves as a motivating force.
“I think it was a great match. For sure the sets he won he played better in the important points, no? I think that was the key,” Sinner said.
“We always or most likely when we play against (each other) play in the semis or final or quarters. Very important matches. I think that's exciting for the game, especially when head-to-head is quite close.
“The winner is happy and then the loser tries to find a way to beat him the next time, no? I think that's exciting. That's what I will try to do.
“I think next time obviously is going to be different. Let's see on what surface we play on. Best-of-three or best-of-five is also different. Grand Slam, there is a different approach.
“I'm looking forward for hopefully some more.”