ROME — Jannik Sinner said he was pleased with his level, despite losing the Rome Open final to Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday in his first tournament following a three-month doping ban.

Alcaraz fought off two set points late in the opening set, before taking control of the match and clinching his first Rome title with a 7-6 (5), 6-1 victory.

The loss ended Sinner's 26-match winning streak, as Alcaraz, who had been the last player to beat the Italian in Beijing last year, made it four wins in a row over the world No 1.

"First set, for sure, was a little bit of a game-changer. But, talking generally, very happy about this tournament. It gives me, hopefully, confidence to play some good tennis in Paris, too," said Sinner.

Before Rome, the 23-year-old had not played since retaining his Australian Open crown at the end of January. He served a much discussed doping ban for testing positive twice in March last year for traces of clostebol, which doping authorities accepted was the result of accidental contamination.

"After three months, coming here and getting this result means a lot to me," Sinner said on Sunday.

"It's something very, very special playing here in Italy, in Rome. They pick me up like a small child, no? The support was amazing.

"For sure, there are some things, like we saw today, that I have to improve if I want to do well in Paris. I am closer than expected, in a way, for everything. It was a great week for me. Some matches (I played) incredibly well, some matches could be better, but this is tennis. It's a lot of ups and downs.

"But, no, everything together, it was a good, good tournament."

Alcaraz extended his head-to-head edge over Sinner to 7-4, a record which includes a thrilling five-set win in the semifinals at Roland Garros 12 months ago.

Sinner had initially signed up to play next week in Hamburg, where 2024 French Open finalist Alexander Zverev will feature, but the Italian instead plans to take some extra rest after an impressive return at the Foro Italico.

"I played the maximum of matches here in Rome, which is very good. Now, I have one week off, which is good for me. A couple of days to switch off mentally, and then be ready for an even more important tournament."

AFP