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Italian tennis star Jannik Sinner secured his first-ever clay court ATP Masters 1000 crown, defeating rival Carlos Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo Masters on Sunday in windy conditions in their first meeting since November last year.
Sinner outclassed his rival 7-6(5), 6-3, capturing not only the title but also making sure he gets the number one ranking on Monday. After this two-hour, 15-minute clash, the Italian became the second player, joining Novak Djokovic, to win the Miami Open and the Monte Carlo Masters back to back. "We came here trying to get as many matches as possible, getting good feedback before other big tournaments coming up. Today was a high level from both of us," Sinner said in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP's official website. "It was a bit windy, a bit breezy. Different conditions from what the tournament has brought. The result is amazing. Getting back to No. 1 means a lot for me... I am very happy to win a big title on this surface. I have not done it before and it means a lot to me," he added. Sinner had a lot of crowd support on Court Rainier III and he secured the first set after a tie-break following a poor double fault by Alcaaz. The 24-year-old Sinner rallied from 1-3 down in set two to secure the win against the Spanish star, who committed 45 unforced errors. "I felt close on the return games and felt the new balls helped me, the ball change was at 2-1, and I just tried to stay there mentally. I tried to keep pushing. I felt a bit tired, so I tried to keep the right mentality, so having this trophy means a lot to me," he added. Sinner is also the third player to win four successive ATP Masters 1000 titles, joining Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, who is an 11-time winner at Monte Carlo. "It is impressive what you are achieving right now," Alcaraz said to Sinner during the trophy ceremony. "Just one man had won the 'Sunshine Double' and Monte-Carlo and you are now the second. It is something incredible and I just experienced how difficult it is. Congratulations for everything and the work you are doing with your team," he added. Sinner did not lose a set on route to his title wins in Paris, Indian Wells and Miami and captured the 'Sunshine Double' of Indian Wells and Miami without losing a set. The second-seed has won past 17 matches and ended his 37-match win streak to Tomas Machac during the Monte Carlo Masters. Sinner has managed to improve his tally to 7-10 overall against Alcaraz. (ANI)
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