Alcaraz is the clear favorite for the French Open. But Sinner is building back to top form

ROME (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz is the clear favorite for the French Open. Top-ranked Jannik Sinner is back from his doping ban, though, and building himself back up to full strength day by day.

Those were the verdicts after Alcaraz beat Sinner to win the Italian Open a week before Roland Garros starts on Sunday.

Alcaraz’s title in Rome boosted his record on clay this season to 15-1.

“On clay right now, you’re the best player,” Sinner told Alcaraz during the trophy ceremony after the Spaniard's 7-6 (5), 6-1 win Sunday.

Sinner held two set points during the first set against Alcaraz in his first tournament following his three-month suspension.

“The level he has played in this tournament is insane after three months without playing,” Alcaraz said. “He’s going to be better and better. … He’s going to be a really dangerous player in Paris.”

If Alcaraz and Sinner meet again in Paris, it will be in the final, because Alcaraz moved up to No. 2 in the rankings on Monday — meaning they will be on opposite sides of the draw at Roland Garros.

Alcaraz beat Sinner over five sets in the French Open semifinals en route to the title last year. Alcaraz then also defended his Wimbledon title for his fourth Grand Slam trophy.

“It was good to play him before two Grand Slams,” Sinner said. “Certainly with my movement I need to understand better where to be at certain monents. That’s different on clay from hard courts. There are small things I need to improve.

“Clay is the surface where I have the toughest time. There’s no use hiding it,” the Italian added.

Indeed, Sinner has won only one of his 19 career titles on clay, in Umag, Croatia, in 2022 — when he beat Alcaraz in the final.

Sinner’s three months away from the sport caught up with him when he couldn’t put up a fight in the second set against Alcaraz before his home fans at the Foro Italico.

“I certainly need to increase my intensity and hold it for a longer period of time,” Sinner said. “I need to play more matches.”

The loss to Alcaraz snapped Sinner’s 26-match winning streak, which included the Italian’s third Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

“Paris will be a completely different tournament,” Sinner said. “It’s a Grand Slam and that makes for different emotions. The tensions will definitely increase, because Grand Slams are even more important to me. But I like that.”

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Jannik Sinner of Italy, back, embraces to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during their final tennis match in the Italian Open at the Foro Italico in Rome, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, left, and Jannik Sinner of Italy pose for the photographers after their final tennis match in the Italian Open at the Foro Italico in Rome, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain celebrates after winning the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, kisses the trophy after winning the Italian Open tennis tournament at the Foro Italico in Rome, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, holds the trophy after winning the Italian Open tennis tournament next to Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Foro Italico in Rome, Sunday, May 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Ahn Sung-ki, one of South Korean cinema’s biggest stars whose prolific 60-year career and positive, gentle public image earned him the nickname “The Nation’s Actor,” died Monday. He was 74.

Ahn, who had suffered blood cancer for years, was pronounced dead at Seoul's Soonchunhyang University Hospital, his agency, the Artist Company, and hospital officials said.

“We feel deep sorrow at the sudden, sad news, pray for the eternal rest of the deceased and offer our heartfelt condolences to his bereaved family members," the Artist Company said in a statement.

President Lee Jae Myung issued a condolence message saying Ahn provided many people with comfort, joy and time for reflection. “I already miss his warm smile and gentle voice,” Lee wrote on Facebook.

Born to a filmmaker in the southeastern city of Daegu in 1952, Ahn made his debut as a child actor in the movie “The Twilight Train” in 1957. He subsequently appeared in about 70 movies as a child actor before he left the film industry to live an ordinary life.

In 1970, Ahn entered Seoul’s Hankuk University of Foreign Studies as a Vietnamese major. Ahn said he graduated with top honors but failed to land jobs at big companies, who likely saw his Vietnamese major largely useless after a communist victory in the Vietnam War in 1975.

Ahn returned to the film industry in 1977 believing he could still excel in acting. In 1980, he rose to fame for his lead role in Lee Jang-ho’s “Good, Windy Days,” a hit coming-of-age movie about the struggle of working-class men from rural areas during the country’s rapid rise. Ahn won the best new actor award in the prestigious Grand Bell Awards, the Korean version of the Academy Awards.

He later starred in a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed movies, sweeping best actor awards and becoming arguably the country’s most popular actor in much of the 1980-90s.

Some of his memorable roles included a Buddhist monk in 1981’s “Mandara,” a beggar in 1984’s “Whale Hunting,” a Vietnam War veteran-turned-novelist in 1992’s “White Badge,” a corrupt police officer in 1993’s “Two Cops,” a murderer in 1999’s “No Where To Hide,” a special forces trainer in 2003’s “Silmido” and a devoted celebrity manager in 2006’s “Radio Star.”

Ahn had collected dozens of trophies in major movie awards in South Korea, including winning the Grand Bell Awards for best actor five times, an achievement no other South Korean actors have matched yet.

Ahn built up an image as a humble, trustworthy and family-oriented celebrity who avoided major scandals and maintained a quiet, stable personal life. Past public surveys chose Ahn as South Korea’s most beloved actor and deserving of the nickname “The Nation’s Actor.”

Ahn said he earlier felt confined with his “The Nation's Actor” labeling but eventually thought that led him down the right path. In recent years, local media has given other stars similar honorable nicknames, but Ahn was apparently the first South Korean actor who was dubbed “The Nation's Actor.”

“I felt I should do something that could match that title. But I think that has eventually guided me on a good direction,” Ahn said in an interview with Yonhap news agency in 2023.

In media interviews, Ahn couldn’t choose what his favorite movie was, but said that his role as a dedicated, hardworking manger for a washed-up rock singer played by Park Jung-hoon resembled himself in real life the most.

Ahn was also known for his reluctance to do love scenes. He said said he was too shy to act romantic scenes and sometimes asked directors to skip steamy scenes if they were only meant to add spice to movies.

“I don’t do well on acting like looking at someone who I don’t love with loving eyes and kissing really romantically. I feel shy and can’t express such emotions well,” Ahn said in an interview with the Shindonga magazine in 2007. “Simply, I’m clumsy on that. So I couldn’t star in such movies a lot. But ultimately, that was a right choice for me.”

Ahn is survived by his wife and their two sons. A mourning station at a Seoul hospital was to run until Friday.

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki smiles for a photo on the red carpet at the 56th Daejong Film Awards ceremony in Seoul, South Korea, June 3, 2020. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, File)

FILE - South Korean actor Ahn Sung-ki attends an event as part of the 11th Pusan International Film Festival in Busan, South Korea, Oct. 13, 2006. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)