Musetti historic, enters Atp Top 5. Sinner ko with Alcaraz not weighing in

Two jolts in the south-east, two blue notes in these first taste of 2026 tennis. Jannik Sinner is there, and despite his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in the exhibition match in Seoul, he gives plays but above all smiles that bode well for the Australian Open. And the news is that he will no longer only be among the top five in the world, as with his semi-final victory in the Hong Kong 250 against Andrey Rublev, Lorenzo Musetti enters the world top five for the first time.

In the first duel of 2026, a match to captivate even the Asian audience less accustomed to the Slam circuit, little was seen from a technical point of view, but entertainment and spectacle dominated, with Carlos Alcaraz winning over Sinner 7-5 7-6(7) in a match that also saw the Spaniard suffer a winning point from a child to whom the Italian had entrusted his racket, amid general laughter, including that of an amused Jannik: "It was nice, so many passionate people, for Carlos and me it was an opportunity to play here in Korea. This was obviously an exhibition, now the main goal is to go to Australia and prepare the whole season, but it was an opportunity to show some tennis to a lot of people in front of whom we had never played. To go back? Why not, I found a certain connection with the Seoul crowd, I'm confident I can come back.

From Sunday it's serious business and both will be in Melbourne for the first training session ahead of the Australian Open. "It was a great experience, it was great to play in front of such a passionate crowd. I hope he enjoyed this tennis, it was a different journey for me, coming here to Korea and measuring myself with an audience I didn't know," admitted the Spaniard. "We deeply need the support of the public, to play the best you need a certain level of involvement, the love of the fans triggers the best tennis, it can be a kind of key to express ourselves at our best. To the Koreans I say thank you, it was a short but intense trip, I discovered how nice and hospitable the people of South Korea are, the goal is to come back," added the Spanish world number 1.

At the Australian Open, for the first time Italy will have two players in the world top 5 in singles since 1973, when the ATP introduced the computerised ranking. Musetti is in fact the third Italian in the Top 5 in the era of computerised ranking after Adriano Panatta, who entered the world's top 5 on 10 August 1976, and Jannik Sinner, who reached the Top 5 for the first time on 2 October 2023. "I had never played like that in Hong Kong. Every time I raised the level, Rublev did the same, but fortunately I finally made it. I am proud of the level I put on the court," Musetti admitted after the match.