Why Andre Agassi says Carlos Alcaraz has edge on Jannik Sinner on clay

Rome

Why Agassi says Alcaraz has edge on Sinner on clay

American previews rivalry ahead of Rome final

Getty Images Andre Agassi shares his thoughts on Tennis Channel on why he believes Carlos Alcaraz has the edge against Jannik Sinner on clay. By Sam Jacot

All eyes will be on the Internazionali BNL d’Italia on Sunday as Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz face off in a blockbuster final. Both the Italian and the Spaniard are bidding to win their first title in Rome — an achievement Andre Agassi knows well.

The former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings Agassi lifted the title in the Italian capital in 2002. Agassi shared his insights on the highly anticipated final during an appearance on Tennis Channel, offering a nuanced breakdown of the strengths both players bring to the table and what might separate them on the clay.

“The question I think that is a beautiful question to ponder and for sports fans to think about is whose high end is really better,” Agassi said on Tennis Channel when asked about Alcaraz and Sinner. “That is a separate question to say who will have a more productive career. I look at it like Alcaraz’s upside on anything that is slippery is his chance to be a level or have an advantage over Sinner.

“The one thing that impresses me so much about Alcaraz, and there is a lot he can improve in my opinion as well, but the one thing that impresses me about him is when I watched him at Wimbledon, and I watch him on the slippery grass or slippery clay, his diminished speed, diminishes less than other fast guys. You have a Tommy Paul, who is one of the fastest out there along with De Minaur and Alcaraz, and when you watch those guys move to grass court or move to clay, you can actually notice the diminish of confidence in their balance and movement. They can’t quite do a much.

“Tommy Paul has had success against Alcaraz on the hard courts by using the athleticism but then you get to anything slippery and it seems that Alcaraz’s movement doesn’t diminish as much as anyone else. It is almost like he is a spaceship playing against normal aeroplanes.”

Indeed, the numbers back up Agassi’s analysis. Alcaraz has captured nine of his 18 tour-level titles on clay, including trophies at Roland Garros and at ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Monte-Carlo. The 22-year-old’s growing resume on grass features three titles — headlined by back-to-back Wimbledon crowns in 2023 and 2024.

Sinner, on the other hand, has been near-flawless on hard courts since the start of 2024. But just two of his 19 titles have come on a surface other than hard. According to Agassi, that surface versatility, and especially Alcaraz’s fluid movement on clay and grass, could give the Spaniard the edge in Sunday’s final, and potentially in the long run.

“[Alcaraz’s] balance is there, his movement is there,” Agassi added. “His ability to move forwards, cover drop shots. Cover shots, athleticism. He covers it all and I think that is a lot to do with the strength in his legs and the balance of his movement. So when you start to look at clay or grass I would give him a bit of an edge, assuming he is healthy and good.

“But when you look at a hard court, where Sinner can get on top of those balls, there is so much action coming off Alcaraz’s racquet, but if you can get on top of that ball and not playing it after that thing is making its full rotation of arch you can use that energy and really punish the ball. Every bit as much as Sinner punishes the ball, but do it directionally and do it by using the energy of it.. Sinner is giving him that kind of intensity. Sinner starts to direct traffic on the hard surfaces but if you start going to the French Open, start going to Wimbledon, I think you are going to see that three per cent diminish return in movement be a huge factor in the difference.”

Tune into the Rome final from not before 5:00 p.m. CEST/11:00 a.m. EDT on Sunday to see if Agassi’s views come to fruition on the clay in the Italian capital.

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