Jannik Sinner, sparks the alliance you don't expect with Madrid darlings
A new alliance has been forged in Spain that may perhaps surprise some: that between Real Madrid and Jannik Sinner. The latter is preparing to face Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s Masters 1000 final at the Caja Magica, but in the meantime he is enjoying his friendship with symbols of the Merengues who have flocked to watch great tennis in the Iberian capital. And particularly making the rounds on the web were the tributes the Alto Adige champion exchanged with Jude Bellingham.
The whole thing stems from the dinner the two shared in Madrid, revealed to the world by Bellingham himself. “What a pleasure,” the English Real Madrid star wrote on Instagram Stories, complete with a photo of him smiling alongside Sinner. Prompt was the latter’s social response, “Nice to meet you, man.” It should be recalled that the two have even already paired up on tennis courts, opening the Santiago Bernabeu training camp by facing Thibaut Courtois and Rafa Nadal.
“He is an amazing player, one of my idols in sports. He has already been at the top in soccer for many years, yet always remaining humble. For me it was great to experience this up close,” Sinner said of Bellingham himself. Who, just with Courtois and other VIPs from sports and beyond, had appeared in the stands of the Madrid Masters 1000 to witness in person the challenge between the champion of Sesto Pusteria and Rafael Jodar. An interesting alliance, then, considering the Iberian fans’ love for the 19-year-old up-and-comer himself and – of course – for Carlos Alcaraz.
Bellingham was, as mentioned, not the only illustrious face present at Manolo Santana Stadium for the challenge between Sinner and Jodar. Also peeping into the stands of the Caja Magica was Bernie Ecclestone, the now 95-year-old Formula 1 boss, who was immortalized by cameras as he followed the exploits of the two tennis players with great attention. Also present was Romanian billionaire Ion Tiriac, who in previous weeks had been outspoken in enthusiastic statements about the South Tyrolean: “His commercial value is at least 100 million euros a year, more than twice as much as a soccer player. I am convinced that he can complete the Grand Slam one day, becoming Rod Laver’s successor in this regard,” even going so far as to predict for Sinner a career haul of at least 20 Slams. Also seated next to Bellingham in the stands was Real Madrid’s young Argentine trequartista Franco Mastantuono, an 18-year-old who arrived last summer from River Plate and is enjoying his first season at the Casa Blanca.
On the strictly tennis front, the victory over Jodar enabled Sinner to hit the Madrid Masters 1000 semifinals for the first time in his career, where he then cleared Frenchman Arthur Fils with a clear 6-2, 6-4 in just one hour and 26 minutes. It was a path that allowed him to sign a historic record: he became the youngest tennis player ever to reach at least one final in all nine Masters 1000s currently on the calendar, a milestone that before him had been achieved only by Federer, Nadal and Djokovic, but not so soon.
On the other side of the net, Zverev comes to the final with renewed confidence and did not fail to prod his rival: “He’s a pretty quiet guy and at the moment he’s enjoying tennis. In fact, I think tennis is far too easy for him right now… Maybe I’ll make it a little bit harder for him on Sunday.” The German, who has already won two titles in Madrid in 2018 and 2021 and is in his fourth final at the Caja Magica, has not beaten Sinner since 2023: since then the Italian has won all eight direct clashes played between the two. It will be the 14th head-to-head overall between the two players.
In the background, weighs the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, who was forced to forfeit not only Madrid but also the Internazionali d’Italia and Roland Garros due to a right wrist problem. Sinner’s coach, Simone Vagnozzi, commented on the situation with words of sincere sorrow: “Clearly sorry for Alcaraz’s injury. You never wish harm on another player. Especially Carlos, with whom all of us on Sinner’s staff have a very good relationship. Besides, of course, Jannik himself.” A final without the Spaniard that, according to Vagnozzi, also shifts the balance of the eve: “Alcaraz right now would have been the favorite on clay. Let’s remember that at Roland Garros he won the last two years. So here in Madrid you have lost the favorite, and so there is that extra bit of pressure on Jannik.”
