London (AP) – It is appropriate that Wimbledon’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on Sunday represents the first time that the same two men face for that title just after playing for the trophy of the France Open, since a couple of types called Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it every year from 2006 to 2008.
That is because the only real competition faced Sinner, classified as No. 1, and Alcaraz, classified as No. 2, at this time comes from each other, not anyone else in the male tennis circuit, and the only comparisons that feel something appropriate are when measuring them against the greatness of the Big Three.
Let’s be clear: it is too early to put Alcaraz or Sinner in a class with Federer and Nadal, each retired with at least 20 Grand Slam titles, or Novak Djokovic, who is still active at 38 with 24 Majors. But as Djokovic himself said: “We know they are the dominant force at this time.”
Sinner and Alcaraz have combined to win the last six important titles. S have combined to win the last six Majors, a streak that will grow to seven on Sunday. Going back more, they have nine of the last 12 Slams (the others in that period were for Djokovic). Alcaraz, a 22 -year -old Spanish, already has five of those trophies; Sinner, a 23 -year -old Italian, has three.
His combined age is the lowest for Wimbledon male finalists since Federer, with almost 25 years, faced Nadal, 20, in 2006.
“We are still very young. So I just hope … (let’s continue) doing the right things during, I don’t know, the next ones, I don’t know, five, ten years,” said Alcaraz, “just to (put) our rivalry (in) the same table as those players.”
Alcaraz is on a streak of 24 consecutive victories and looks for its 3rd Wimbledon trophy. He is currently on an undefeated 24 -game streak, he has also won 20 in a row in Wimbledon while pursuing a third consecutive title.
Sinner is participating in its fourth consecutive final of a Major, including victories in the United States Open and the Australian Open.
“The anticipation for this final is great, it is incredible,” said Djokovic.
Alcaraz vs. Sinner demands attention
When Alcaraz traced a two-set deficit and erased three championship points to defeat Sinner in five sets distributed in five hours and 29 minutes in Roland-Garros last month, there were immediate comparisons with what many consider the best male tennis game in history: Nadal’s victory over Federer in five sets in the All England Club in 2008.
Sinner says that his rivalry with Alcaraz is good for tennis. “It is good for sport,” said Sinner, who commented that his right side, which was injured in a fall in the fourth round in semifinals about Djokovic, will not be a problem on Sunday. “The more rivalries we have from now on, the better it will be, because people want to see young players facing each other.”
Like Federer and Nadal, these two have different ways to win.
Sinner presumes a metronomic precision with their pure and powerful backstream generated by their long members, returns that cushion the force and a serve that could be the most dangerous of the circuit. Alcaraz is a master of creativity and versatility with spare speed, capable of hitting shots from the bottom line or loading the network or finishing a point with a well disguised droplet.
“They get the best out of each other. Everything will be reduced to the great moments. It is very difficult to predict it,” said Taylor Fritz, the Sinner runner -up in Flushing Meadows and defeated by Alcaraz on Friday. “Both generate a lot of gross power. But I think for me, it is a bit more uncomfortable to play against Carlos, just for the unpredictability of what he will do.”
Will the French Open final import when Alcaraz plays against Sinner in Wimbledon? How will it affect what happened in Paris only five weeks ago?
Will Alcaraz lead an extra confidence of his fifth consecutive victory over Sinner? Will you load with a mental weight for the way you let out an opportunity or discover what went wrong and correct it?
Alcaraz does not believe that defeat affects Sinner this time.
Sinner said he rested and relaxed for a couple of days after that setback, eating grilled food with the family and playing ping-pong with friends, before returning to work. If he was really devastated, he argued, he would not have reached his first Wimbledon final so soon after.
“Hopefully it is another beautiful game played at a very high level,” Sinner said, “and that the best win.”
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This story was translated from English by an AP editor with the help of a generative artificial intelligence tool.
