Jannik Sinner ready to take drastic action to improve his record vs Carlos Alcaraz: ‘Maybe aim to lose some matches’

After losing 7 of his last 8 matches vs Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner is ready to make big changes to improve his tennis, even at the risk of inconsistency.

Jannik Sinner was simply outplayed at times as he lost the US Open men’s final to Carlos Alcaraz, relinquishing the world number one position and also seeing the Spaniard once again go two clear in terms of the number of grand slam titles won by these two great young rivals. It wasn’t quite Sinner’s day as he started a little slow and looked just a touch off his best, but it was largely a credit to Alcaraz finding an extra gear and determination through the middle portion of the match to win 6-2 3-6 6-1 6-4 in New York.

Jannik Sinner with a rare moment of frustration during his loss vs Carlos Alcaraz at the US Open.(AP)

After Alcaraz accelerated and left Sinner in his dust, the Italian was realistic about his performance, and despite his incredible success over the last two years, was happy to entertain thoughts about bringing some inconsistencies into his game if it meant having more weapons to work with against Alcaraz in the future.

“I was very predictable on court today. He did many things, he changed up the game. That’s also his style of how he plays,” explained Sinner in his post-final press conference. “Now it’s gonna be on me if I want to make changes or not. We’re definitely gonna work on that. I’m trying to be more prepared for the next match when I will play against him.”

Sinner ready to struggle to elevate his own game

“You arrive at the point where you have to play Carlos, where you have to go out of the comfort zone. I’m going t aim to maybe even lose some matches from now on, but try to do some changes,” said Sinner. “To be a bit more unpredictable as a player. That’s what I have to do, trying to become a better tennis player. At the end of the day that’s my main goal.”

Confident in baseline ability but wants to make tweaks

In particular, Sinner expressed how he knows how his strengths lie in his baseline game and the power he is capable of generating from the back of the court, which is often overwhelming to the point that it suffocates every other player on tour. However, against Alcaraz’s combination of court coverage and magical shotmaking, it becomes less of an asset, meaning Sinner needs more items in his toolbox from that perspective.

“I’m a very, very solid, baseliner. I’m a very strong hitter, I’m a good player, but sometimes adding just ‘something’, you know? And I think that’s gonna make a difference from my personal point of view,” reflected the Italian. “I can say that I’m gonna become a better tennis player and gonna change a couple of things on the serve, just small things, but they can make big differences.”

Sinner will be hoping for a strong end to the season to ensure he will be within striking distance to regain the number one ranking before the end of the year, with it being a very narrow race at the top.