“I think that the schedule is really tight. They have to do something with the schedule.” Carlos Alcaraz didn’t hesitate to admit his honest feelings about the tennis calendar and its current workings. The world No.1 has been playing non-stop this season with hardly any breaks between crucial campaigns. According to the six-time slam champion, “there are too many mandatory tournaments, too many in a row.” But is it really a cause of concern for others, too? It seems like his arch-rival Jannik Sinner has an entirely different perspective.

Ahead of his Shanghai Masters campaign, the Italian ATP star interacted with the media. When asked how he feels about other players’ complaints about event scheduling, Sinner didn’t align with them. “I don’t want to criticize anything. For me, everyone thinks in different ways.” He tried to clarify that he and other players can always choose the events they want to participate in. Per him, “You just have to understand what the priority is for ourselves.”

“I always made choices, even last year, you know, sometimes jumping some tournaments. The schedule is what it is.” Concluding his take on the matter, the four-time slam winner added, “If you want to play a tournament, you have to play tournament. If not, you make another choice to rest or practice, you know, that’s it. So, yeah, it is what it is.”

This is not the first time Sinner has shared this kind of opinion regarding scheduling. Last year, he had a similar stance on this situation. “If you want, you can play. If not, you don’t play. For example, last year and also this year, I didn’t play some tournaments because I wanted to practice. There are some choices behind this.”

Speaking of Sinner’s ATP tour, he is coming off a victorious China Open campaign. Earlier this week, he beat American teenage sensation Learner Tien to win his second-straight title in Beijing. Moving forward, however, Sinner has one more title to defend.

Jannik Sinner looks to reclaim Shanghai Masters trophy in Alcaraz’s absence

While tennis fans have become habitual by now for a Carlos Alcaraz-Jannik Sinner final in almost every event, it won’t be the case, unfortunately, at the Shanghai Masters. For the uninitiated, the Spaniard has withdrawn from the ATP 1000 tournament. He decided after his Japan Open win, days ahead of the Shanghai campaign. Alcaraz had sustained an ankle injury during his Tokyo run, possibly forcing him out of action.

What makes the situation interesting is that his arch-rival, Sinner, won’t have a tough challenge to face. This means he can very much look forward to defending his Shanghai Masters title. Last season, the Italian beat 24-time slam king Novak Djokovic in the summit clash to clinch the trophy.

Surprisingly, there were slight concerns about Sinner’s participation this week. He ended up having a stomach bug, but fortunately, that has passed now. He is ready to kick off his campaign without any fitness issues. “It feels great to be back here. It’s a very special tournament, obviously the last one we have in Asia,” he revealed, as reported by the ATP Tour’s website on October 2.

Although he is world No.2 and the defending champion in Shanghai, Sinner refrained from being overconfident. “It’s going to be a very, very difficult and tough challenge, especially the first round match. You never know what’s going to happen, so let’s see. But obviously I’m very happy to be back here and play in front of Shanghai fans.”

He is set to begin his journey at the Masters event against Daniel Altmaier on Saturday. The H2H tally is currently level at 1-1. In their last meeting, Altmaier emerged victorious during the R64 of the 2023 French Open. Undoubtedly, Sinner will try to take revenge this time while having a 2-1 lead over the German.