Jan 24, 2025; Melbourne, Victoria, Australia; Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates during his match against Ben Shelton of United States of America in the semifinals of the men's singles at the 2025 Australian Open at Melbourne Park.

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Jannik Sinner Cheekily Calls Out His Brother for Ditching Italian Open 2025 Final Over F1 Priorities

Sinner lost to Alcaraz in the Rome final.

Jannik Sinner faces Carlos Alcaraz for the prestigious Roland Garros title today in Paris. His family and loved ones will be there but same cannot be said for his elder brother Mark, since mark has his priorities set straight!

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner was defeated in the final of the 2025 Internazionali BNL d’Italia in straight sets. The Italian, who had an incredible week on home soil, fell short at the final hurdle against the impenetrable Carlos Alcaraz. ‘Carlitos’ produced a flawless performance and took the attack to Sinner, to emerge victorious 7-6(5) 6-1 despite facing two set points in the opener.

Following the intense final, Sinner was gracious in defeat at the post-match trophy presentation. But the 23-year-old wasted no time in hilariously calling out his brother for failing to attend the summit clash. It was a momentous occasion on Campo Centrale, with two future stars of tennis showing nothing but respect for one another.

Jannik Sinner Hilariously Thanks His Brother for Missing Rome Final

The three-time Grand Slam champion is the second of two kids in the Sinner household. His elder brother Mark, was born in Russia, and adopted by Sinner’s parents. The family has often been spotted among the Italian powerhouse’s entourage and shows full support for their No. 1 ranked player in the world. However, Sinner hilariously pointed out that his brother was missing in his box on Sunday, due to a peculiar reason.

“A special thank you to my brother, who rather than being here, is in Imola watching Formula-1,” he said. The sold out Centre Court crowd erupted in a fit of laughter. Meanwhile, Alcaraz recognised the titanic effort from Sinner to reach a final at home after three months out of the ATP Tour. “I can’t imagine how tough and difficult it was for you, your family, your team. Coming back to tour here at your home, a really special tournament for you – I have to congratulate you.”

Dominant Alcaraz Completes Full Clay Court Set

Monte-Carlo ✅
Madrid ✅
Rome ✅
Roland-Garros ✅@carlosalcaraz has now won every big title on clay 🏆 pic.twitter.com/Z89wnGHRVQ
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) May 18, 2025

It was a statement performance from Alcaraz on Sunday, who made his intentions clear ahead of a Roland Garros title defence next week. The clay court virtuoso made full use of the deceptive drop shot, which caught Sinner off guard on multiple occasions. At 5-6 in the opening set, Alcaraz saved two set points to take it into a tiebreak – where he eventually prevailed to grab the advantage.

In the second set, while the Spaniard managed to maintain his level tactically and physically, his Italian counterpart struggled to find his range. Sinner took extra risks on the returns of serve, but failed to strike an accurate risk-reward balance which led to unforced errors. This was seen specifically on the ad court, when Sinner didn’t have a backhand solution to Alcaraz’s kick serve out wide.

According to ATPTour.com, Carlos Alcaraz had a superior return rating of 174 in comparison to 68 for Sinner. While the top seed failed to convert either of his two break points, Alcaraz had a 67% conversion rate which helped him ease through the second set. Another inch-perfect inside-in drop shot to the Sinner forehand, followed by a putaway volley, handed him the Rome Masters trophy. He has now won Monte Carlo, Madrid, Rome and Roland Garros – the full set!

ATP

ATP Masters 1000

Carlos Alcaraz

Italian Open

Jannik Sinner

Roland Garros

Rome Masters

Tennis

Sankalp Harikrishnan

A passionate sports fan through and through, I am currently pursuing my MA in Global Sports Journalism. I specialise in tennis and football writing at The Playoffs News, and I have prior experience working at EssentiallySports and Sportskeeda. Born and raised in Bengaluru, India, sport was my safe space right from my childhood. After trying my hand at multiple sports and representing my educational institutions in cricket, badminton and table tennis, I found sports media to be my calling.