Andy Murray's former coach left 'astounded' by what Carlos Alcaraz was able to do in the Italian Open final

Carlos Alcaraz has won the Italian Open for the first time in his career after beating Jannik Sinner in the final.

Alcaraz beat Sinner in straight sets, in what was their first meeting since the latter returned to the ATP Tour.

As a result of the one-sided final in the Italian capital, Sinner has made a big claim about Alcaraz ahead of Roland Garros.

Sinner is not the only person who has been impressed by what he has seen from Alcaraz ahead of the second major of 2025.

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Miles Maclagan astounded by Carlos Alcaraz in the Italian Open final

Sinner had two set points in the first set, but was unable to capitalise on them and only won one more game in the match from this point.

When discussing how the match turned out on Sky Sports, Andy Murray’s former coach of three years, Miles Maclagan, expressed how impressed he was by Alcaraz when talking to his colleague.

“Sinner’s body just could not push any more,” said the lead Sky commentator. “It would have been fascinating to see how it would have worked out if he had taken that first set. But really Alcaraz was almost breaking the rules of the sport.

“Okay, you can’t hit any winners against me because I am going to get everything back and I am barely going to miss. I don’t know where you go even when you are the world number one. It felt like he had no options, even if Sinner had been fresh.”

Maclagan responded, “As so many of the top players do. They make you walk such a fine line with how aggressive you need to be. Remember this is Jannik Sinner who brushed aside the champion of Madrid in Casper Ruud, and he can’t get those past Alcaraz.

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“That forces you to go for a little more and that is, perhaps, where the unforced errors come from. The doubts in your mind and the hesitancy when you take on a big shot.

“Alcaraz would have worked so hard physically to attain that sort of level. We have seen so many of his matches and I am still astounded by the way he can move. A couple of the defensive points are absolutely incredible.”

Carlos Alcaraz’s impressive clay court form in 2025

Alcaraz was returning to tennis himself in Rome, after withdrawing from the Madrid Open due to an adductor injury.

The 22-year-old has continued in the same form that he left off, with Alcaraz now winning his second Masters 1000 title of the year on clay.

His only loss on the surface this year came against Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final, where Alcaraz originally suffered that aforementioned injury.

Carlos Alcaraz on Clay in 2025 Win-loss Record 15-1 (93.75%) Titles 2 (Monte Carlo Masters & Italian Open)

Alcaraz will be hoping to take this form into Roland Garros, where he is the defending champion.

Roland Garros gets underway on Sunday May 25, with Alcaraz the second seed behind world number one Sinner.

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