Every player has a comfort zone – a place where their game feels effortless, their confidence unshakable. For Jannik Sinner, that place exists indoors, where he has currently secured a winning streak of 28 matches. But on the other side, his fierce rival, Carlos Alcaraz, recently spoke about why that same setting feels foreign to him. Their contrasting experiences perfectly capture the beauty of their rivalry.

Just a few days ago, Alcaraz admitted that indoor conditions don’t come naturally to him. “Well, I’m Spanish, I’m from Murcia, where it’s sunny almost 365 days per year. Playing indoors for me is kinda weird, as I’m just not used to it, but I’m getting used to it,” he said. During the Paris Masters, the Spaniard raised a few complaints about the surface, but after playing his first match in Turin this year, he admitted that the speed of the court at the beginning of the week was quite good. In fact, he claimed it was a little faster than Paris. For Alcaraz, the controlled, artificial environment of the Inalpi Arena still feels like new terrain—one that requires constant adaptation. But for Sinner, it’s the exact opposite…

Recently, Jannik Sinner secured his spot in the SF of the 2025 ATP Finals with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Alexander Zverev. With this win, he has now secured a 20-1 record against Top 10 players in indoors (since October 2023). During the post-match interview, Sinner was asked to reveal the secret to success on these surfaces, in particular. Replying to that, he said, “Indoor hard suits my game. It’s easier to find rhythm even in practice. I feel like when someone hits fast, it’s tough to change the direction of the ball. That helps me. No wind, no sun, always the same feeling. That helps me to feel more comfy.”

Just like Alcaraz, even Sinner didn’t play much on these surfaces when he was young, but still, he has adapted to them perfectly. Seeing Alcaraz’s constant failures on this surface, tennis legend Justine Henin raised a few question marks about his chances at the ATP Finals. She said, “I think there are still some questions for Alcaraz in indoor conditions, even though he seems to have a lot of potential to perform well in those conditions. There’s no way around it; it’s still a hurdle to overcome.”

But let me tell you, just like Jannik Sinner, even Carlos Alcaraz has secured a 2-0 record at the 2025 ATP Finals, and he looks like a man on a mission. Alcaraz will face Lorenzo Musetti in the next match, while for Sinner, it’d be America’s Ben Shelton. However, before shifting our focus to the next battles, let’s take a glimpse at Sinner and Zverev’s analysis of their epic duel in Turin.

Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev’s honest take about their ATP Finals battle

When Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev walked onto the court in Turin, fans knew they were in for a battle. The atmosphere inside the Inalpi Arena buzzed with energy—the Italian crowd roaring for their hometown hero, and Zverev, a two-time (2018, 2021) ATP Finals champion, determined to spoil the party. The match ended 6-4, 6-3 in favor of the Italian, but anyone who watched it knew those numbers didn’t capture the struggle that unfolded. Every rally felt like a tug-of-war, each point fought with intensity as neither player wanted to blink first. 

After beating Zverev for the third time in 17 days, ever composed yet humble, Sinner said, “Very, very competitive. Very close match. I felt like I served really well in important moments. I tried to play the best tennis possible when it mattered. Fortunately, it went my way today. We both changed a bit tactically. We both tried to hit quite fast, quite flat. I’m very happy with how I returned the serve. It’s very difficult… the group I’m in, with Sascha, with Ben, it’s very difficult to return the serves. But I’m very happy, and let’s see what’s coming in the next round.”

Jannik Sinner out-aced Alexander Zverev by 12-7, and guess what? Those numbers against one of the biggest servers in tennis were truly exceptional. This win against the German has increased his prize money for the ATP Finals to $1,124,000, and this has indeed allowed Sinner to move through the $15 million barrier for 2025, excluding the $6 million he earned for winning the Six Kings Slam event last month.

This was Sinner’s sixth win against Zverev in their ten meetings on the ATP Tour. But despite facing a straight-set defeat, Zverev claims the scoreline was a bit misleading.

“I think generally today the match, the biggest difference was how he was serving on the break points. I had more break points than him. I felt very good from the baseline, actually better than in Vienna, almost, when we were in the rally. To be honest, he had two chances to break me, and he used both of them. I had a lot of chances, and I didn’t use any. The score was 6-4, 6-3, but in my opinion, my humble opinion, I felt like the match was closer than the score maybe says. I thought it was a very high-level match,” said the world number 3 after the match.

Coming back to Jannik Sinner‘s brilliance on home soil. Last year, he became the first man to win the event without losing a set (since 1986). Even this year, he’s yet to drop a set. Can he keep this run intact and secure yet another dominating victory against Shelton in the next match?