Jannik Sinner’s run at the 2026 Australian Open ended earlier than he had hoped.

The Italian was aiming to become just the second player in Open Era history, after Novak Djokovic, to win three straight titles at Melbourne Park, having lifted the trophy in both 2024 and 2025.

But it was Djokovic who stood in his way, beating Sinner in a five-set battle on Rod Laver Arena to reach another final.

Sinner’s defeat, combined with Carlos Alcaraz’s victory, saw the Spaniard pull three majors ahead of him in the Grand Slam count.

However, despite Alcaraz now holding a bigger lead in that race, Patrick Mouratoglou still sees little separating them overall.

Patrick Mouratoglou comes to the defence of Jannik Sinner

Speaking on Instagram, Mouratoglou said: “I think we cannot say that Alcaraz is above the pack. I think we have to keep putting Jannik Sinner at the same level.

“A lot of people love to do that. One match, oh wow, I changed my mind, oh, all this proved everything on one match. No, this is just one match. But one tournament doesn’t prove everything either.

“Of course it’s a Grand Slam but it’s just one Grand Slam, and if you look back last year, they shared everything. Two Grand Slams each.

“It was Sinner who won the ATP Finals and you can imagine that if Sinner could have played three more months while he was banned, he would potentially have ended up number one in the world at the end of the season.

“I think those two guys are dominating incredibly the tennis world like the top three in the past. Same way, you can compare it easily.

“There are two guys who are a million miles above the rest of the pack, except Novak. I think throughout 2026 they might share a lot of victories in the finals.

“They are dominating, those two, but I think they’re very close in terms of level.”

What is next for Jannik Sinner on the ATP Calendar?

After falling short in the Australian Open semifinals, Sinner skipped tournaments in Montpellier, Rotterdam, Dallas, and Buenos Aires.

He is set to return at the Qatar Open in Doha, starting on February 16th and finishing up on the 21st.

Sinner will not be short of company there. Both Djokovic and Alcaraz are expected to play, making it a strong field for an early-season event.

The Qatar Open is also the opening stop of the Middle East swing before the tour heads to Dubai for the Duty Free Tennis Championships.

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