5 min readNew DelhiMar 30, 2026 07:01 PM IST
The competitive balance in the most important rivalry of present-day men’s tennis has been off-kilter over the past year. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have separated themselves from the chasing pack, but the former has separated himself from the latter, too. With six wins out of eight completed matches against him, Alcaraz has had the Italian’s number. With significant improvements in his game over the last six months, he started 2026 by storming to the Australian Open title and becoming the youngest player to complete the career Grand Slam.
If the biggest events in the sport started to feel a bit like the ‘Alcaraz show,’ his rival spent all of March reminding the world why that may not be the case. He may not have got his revenge on Alcaraz – the duo are, surprisingly, yet to face each other this year – but with his routine 6-4, 6-4 demolition of Jiri Lehecka in the Miami Open final on Sunday, Sinner capped off an imperious month which saw him return to form and rhythm, putting to rest any doubts that may have creeped in after a slow start to the season.
Sinner’s victory in Miami, to go with the title at the Indian Wells Masters a few weeks prior, means he has completed tennis’ vaunted ‘Sunshine Double’ — lifting the two biggest events away from the Majors back-to-back in America. The completion of the feat sent a number of records tumbling that bear repeating.
THE MOMENT JANNIK SINNER WON THE SUNSHINE DOUBLE. 🥹
First man in history to win it without dropping a set.
First man to win it since Roger Federer in 2017.
Only the 8th man to ever achieve it.
Sinner things are historic things.
🇮🇹🦊
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) March 29, 2026
The Italian became only the eighth player to complete the Sunshine Double in men’s tennis history, and the first ever to do so without dropping a set. His record at the Masters level — one rung below the Grand Slams — continues to grow. This was his third consecutive title at that level, joining Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal as the only others to have done so. The Paris Masters triumph in November also came without dropping a set, meaning he has won 34 consecutive sets at the Masters, becoming the first player to do so since the ranking competition was introduced in 1990.
After Aryna Sabalenka beat Coco Gauff in three tough sets on Saturday, Sinner and her became only the fourth duo in tennis history to have completed the Sunshine Double in the same year. There were plenty of parallels between the two victories. Both being the best hard courters on their respective tours, they had suffered bruising defeats in Australia. Sinner’s run doesn’t quite match Sabalenka’s in that she was able to get revenge over Elena Rybakina twice, who pipped her for the title in Melbourne. Sinner did not face Alcaraz, or Djokovic, who beat him in five sets in an Australian Open semifinal in which Sinner was visibly disappointed to miss his chances.
But that minor asterisk does not take away the significance of Sinner’s magnificent month. It put his recent slump to bed and showed that tough defeats in big moments recently haven’t changed the fact that there remain precious few players on the tour who can contend with his consistently ruthless baseline play. His improvements on serve showed that time has been spent refining that area of his game as well.
Genuinely moved by the defeat to Djokovic in Melbourne, Sinner slumped to an uncharacteristic early loss in Qatar too. Off colour to start the year, he spent time de-cluttering his mind and working on the aspects of his game — net play, to go with his serve — to arrest the slide. He may not have faced Alcaraz but the best of the rest were dismantled with utter disdain.
The return to form coincides with an apparent burnout for his rival. An early loss in Miami and a semifinal exit at Indian Wells showed Alcaraz could burn as brightly as he had been only for so long. He says he is cherishing a break before he is further put under the pump while Sinner chases his No. 1 ranking as tennis’ global caravan moves to the clay season.
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The two will be trading blows on the red brick not just attempting to gear up for the French Open — where Sinner could join Alcaraz in completing the career Grand Slam — but also for the rights to be the top seed there. This time last year, Sinner was serving a three-month doping suspension, meaning he has no points to defend and can only gain until mid-May. Alcaraz, just 1190 points ahead of the Italian at No. 1, will be defending points from two titles and a final in that time.
The Spaniard had mentioned that his recent success had put him under some pressure. That he felt he had a target on his back and everyone he faced had begun playing ‘like Roger Federer.’ That pressure will only heighten; the most from the man immediately in his rear-view mirror.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
