"Don't want to believe it, but Jannik Sinner's the favorite" - Carlos Alcaraz declares himself the underdog for ATP Finals decider

Carlos Alcaraz declared Jannik Sinner the favorite and himself the underdog in the aftermath of ensuring that they face each other yet again, this time in the championship match of the 2025 ATP Finals in Turin, Italy. Both players are in red-hot form at the prestigious year-end event and registered convincing straight-set wins in their respective semifinals.

In the first semifinal played on Saturday, November 15, Sinner defeated Alex de Minaur 7-5, 6-2 to continue his ATP Finals title defense in style. Later, in the night-session last-four clash, Alcaraz came out on top with a 6-2, 6-4 victory against Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Subsequently, the Spaniard, also the reigning World No. 1, assessed his upcoming final against his Italian World No. 2 rival. Citing Jannik Sinner's 31-match winning streak on indoor hard courts and the fact that the Italian will be supported vociferously by the Turin crowd, Carlos Alcaraz told reporters at a post-match press conference:

"Who is the favorite? I mean, the No. 1 means that I've been playing really good during the whole season, in the whole surfaces. He's playing the best on indoor court. We're playing in front of his home crowd. I would say he's the favorite. Don't want to believe it, but I would say he's the favorite for tomorrow I guess."

"Jannik Sinner beat me 6-3 pretty easily" - Carlos Alcaraz on Italian's convincing display against him in practice ahead of ATP Finals

Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 ATP Finals (Source: Getty)

Earlier in the same press conference, Carlos Alcaraz recalled the practice set he played against Jannik Sinner at Turin's Inalpi Arena in the buildup to the 2025 ATP Finals. According to the Spaniard, on that occasion, the Italian downed him 6-3 in dominant fashion. However, the World No. 1 also highlighted the fact that players' sensations vary greatly between practice and actual competitive encounters.

"He beat me 6-3 pretty easily, to be honest. In sport, is totally different feeling than going to a match," Alcaraz said.

The recent head-to-head stats between the two players though, suggests that Carlos Alcaraz has the edge going into the Turin final. The Spaniard has come out on top in seven out of the last eight clashes against Jannik Sinner, with the Italian's sole victory having come in the final of this year's Wimbledon Championships. Overall, Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 10-5.

The ATP Finals remains one of the very few prestigious titles in men's tennis that the Spaniard is yet to win.

Edited by Sudipto Pati