Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have been regularly reminded about the implications of this week in Monaco for the race to be world number one.
They’ll have known the maths well before play started, but it hasn’t stopped every press conference from circling back to the same topic.
Simply put, Sinner needs to go further than Alcaraz at the Monte Carlo Masters to take top spot now. If not, he’ll likely get there at the next event on clay anyway.
Jannik Sinner opens up about his race with Carlos Alcaraz for the number one ranking
He started by saying: “No, not really.”
Sinner then elaborated: “Apart from the fact that it’s a big part of the game, no, but I think both he and I are aware of the situation, both his and mine, and that’s it.
“I mean, there’s not much to say. I mean, I’m not playing next week at all. Um, I don’t know if he played Madrid last year. I don’t think so. So there’s only this tournament.
“But I’m not even chasing this thing because otherwise I’d have to play next week and do everything even more. I’m playing this tournament because I’m at home, because playing matches is the best practice and it’s good to have immediate feedback on clay.
“We’ll know after this tournament where we can work. But in the end, both he and I are playing for fun, not the ranking itself.”
Sinner also made it clear that chasing points isn’t something that bothers him at all: “In my opinion it is secondary right now.
How Sinner has performed against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the past
As Sinner pointed out, the rankings aren’t his main focus right now. He’s more interested in building momentum on clay and competing for titles, and if he keeps playing like this, the ranking points will take care of themselves.
Next up for him is Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals of the Monte Carlo Masters. This will be their seventh meeting overall.
Sinner lost their first two matches, but since then, he’s won four straight and comes into this one as the clear favourite.
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