"You deserve it Jannik, so happy for you" - Carlos Alcaraz congratulates rival Jannik Sinner on winning first Masters 1000 title at Canadian Open 2023

Carlos Alcaraz has congratulated Jannik Sinner after the Italian secured his maiden Masters 1000 title at the 2023 Canadian Open.

Sinner defeated Alex de Minaur 6-4, 6-1 to win the title in Toronto on Sunday. The 21-year-old also became the youngest champion since Alexander Zverev, who was 20 years old when he lifted the trophy in 2017.

With the win, Jannik Sinner joined the ranks of Fabio Fognini (who had previously triumphed at the Monte-Carlo Masters in 2019) to become the second Italian player to secure a Masters 1000 title since the series' inception in 1990. The victory also improved Sinner's Masters 1000 record to 18-4 this season.

Carlos Alcaraz took to social media to congratulate Jannik Sinner for winning the Canadian Open title. Alcaraz conveyed his genuine happiness for the Italian, acknowledging his well-deserved triumph.

"You deserve it Jannik! So happy for you 🙏🏼 🏆 @janniksin," Alcaraz captioned his Instagram story.

Carlos Alcaraz's Instagram story

"Jannik Sinner has a very powerful game" - Andreas Seppi

Jannik Sinner at the 2023 Canadian Open

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Andreas Seppi heaped praises on Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Seppi commended Sinner for his formidable game, precision in playing close to the line, and remarkable speed on the court. He further emphasized that, among the new generation of players, Sinner possesses the greatest potential to exert pressure on Alcaraz.

"Jannik (Sinner) has a very powerful game and he plays close to the line and very fast. Their head-to-head (Alcaraz vs. Sinner) is 3-3. Jannik has the best chance of this new generation to put Alcaraz under pressure. Jannik, in the end, has the speed and how he takes the ball on the rise," Andreas Seppi said.

Seppi firmly believes that given a few more years of experience, Sinner has the potential to clinch one or even multiple Grand Slam titles.

"I think physically he's still a little bit behind but if you give him maybe another couple of years, he can surely win one or many I would say," he added.

Andreas Seppi emphasized that both Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have a slight advantage over Holger Rune in terms of their development. However, Seppi acknowledged the possibility of being mistaken, suggesting that Rune might ultimately achieve the most impressive results among the three players.

"Alcaraz is already a complete player he's doing everything well, moving well and so it's going to be interesting. I would say Alcaraz and Sinner, and this is just my view, are one step ahead of (Holger) Rune. But maybe I'm wrong and Rune is going to be the one who has the best results from the three," Seppi added.