Jannik Sinner's latest brilliant run takes him to Paris title

“The past couple of months has been amazing,” Jannik Sinner said after beating Félix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 7-6 (4) to win his first title at the Rolex Paris Masters.

“Trying to improve as a player and seeing these results makes me incredibly happy.”

REPLAY: Jannik Sinner def. Félix Auger-Aliassime, 2025 Paris Final

Sinner’s October, and first two days of November, have indeed been something special, even by his elevated standards. He’s 16-1 since October 1st, with three titles in four events. His only loss came when he cramped in the high heat of Shanghai and couldn’t continue. In Paris, he won his fifth title of 2025, in just 11 events. He ran his indoor win streak to 26 matches. He became the first man in two years to win a Masters 1000 without dropping a set. He reclaimed the No. 1 ranking, and made the year-end race with Carlos Alcaraz significantly closer.

The last person to beat Sinner, other than the Spaniard, was Alexander Bublik in Halle on June 19.

Is it strange, then, that Sinner’s hot streak has hardly registered in the media or received much attention from fans or commentators? Is that because we’re in the fall, a time when all but the most hardcore followers of the sport have checked out? Is it because he hasn’t played Alcaraz since the Open? Is it because everyone expects the icy Italian to clinically dismantle all of his opponents anyway, especially on hard courts? It’s probably all of those things combined. Still, it feels notable how ho-hum Sinner and Alcaraz have made this level of excellence.

It may be hard to remember, but after his loss in the Open final, Sinner talked about how he was going to go back to the drawing board for the rest of this season, and try to make his game more varied. He could trade missiles with Alcaraz, but he couldn’t mix in the same touch shots. Normally, this type of revamp takes a fair amount of time and effort, and a few defeats along the way, to implement.

Watching Sinner’s win over Auger-Aliassime, it felt like he had already succeeded in adding just what he needed. Sinner tried 20 drop shots over two sets, and won 15 of those points. His crosscourt forehand drop, hit from above shoulder height, was particularly deadly. Not only did FAA have to guard against both the crosscourt and down-the-line drives, he had to make sure he could cover the forecourt as well. Sinner was clinical without being predictable, and never faced a break point.

In the end, though, he returned to his bread-and-butter—i.e., hammering the ball—to seal the win. At 2-2 in the second set tiebreaker, Auger-Aliassime, who is chasing the final spot at the year-end championships in Turin, finally cracked and sent an easy forehand wide. Sinner pounced right away. He won the next point with an inside-out forehand winner, did the same to reach match point, and clinched the title with a one-two backhand punch—crosscourt first, and then down the line for a clean closing winner.

“It was such an intense final,” said Sinner, who was 2-2 against FAA before this match. “He was serving incredibly well. You have to use the small chances you have. I’m very happy with how I played [in the tiebreaker]. I was very consistent.”

Sinner is still No. 2 in the year-end race, behind Alcaraz. But this win, and his nearly flawless last month, has pulled him to within striking distance of the Spaniard as they head to Turin for the final ATP event of the year.

If they face off there, we’ll find out whether Sinner’s late-season work has been a success. If he can use it to catch and pass Alcaraz for No. 1, maybe it will be enough to make the rest of us sit up and take notice.