Jannik Sinner has opened up on his relationship with Carlos Alcaraz after the Spaniard declared they were “not close friends”. The rivals flew to Shanghai together hours after Alcaraz beat Sinner in the recent China Open final. But Alcaraz quickly shut down assumptions about their friendship.

The men’s final of this year’s China Open was billed as a battle between two titans and it definitely didn’t disappoint.

Carlos Alcaraz rallied from a set down and held his nerve in a deciding tiebreak to beat Jannik Sinner 6-7(6) 6-4 7-6(3) in the China Open final.

In a match that typified the thrilling closeness of their rivalry at the top of men’s tennis, Carlos Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner 6-7(6), 6-4, 7-6(3) to win the China Open in Beijing. The world No. 1 came from 2-5 down in the first set,

Legendary Mats Wilander said Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have been producing tennis at a higher level than the Big Three of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Alcaraz and Sinner were involved in a slugfest in the China Open earlier in October.

The world No.3 Alcaraz has now won all three of his meetings with top-ranked Sinner this year, having also come out on top in the semifinals at Indian Wells and the French Open.

The two best men's tennis players in the world are elevating each other to heights as absurd as they are watchable