Carlos Alcaraz excited for the next chapter of his rivalry with Jannik Sinner
The two dominant players in men's tennis over the past two years finally met in their first grand slam final at the French Open last month, where Alcaraz saved three championship points before winning an epic five-setter lasting five hours and 29 minutes.
🚨 THE REMATCH IS HAPPENING 🚨@janniksin will face @carlosalcaraz in the Wimbledon final on Sunday!@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/JedFZHXoZL
— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 11, 2025
On Sunday Centre Court will host the rematch, as 23-year-old Italian Sinner bids for a first Wimbledon title and attempts to gain revenge for that devastating defeat.
'I'm still thinking about that moment sometimes,' said Alcaraz. 'It was the best match that I have ever played so far.
'I'm not surprised he pushed me to the limit. I expect that on Sunday just to be on the limit, to be on the line. It's just going to be a great day, a great final. I'm just excited about it.
'I just hope not to be on court for five hours and a half again. But if I have to, I will.'
Alcaraz ousted American fifth seed Fritz 6-4 5-7 6-3 7-6 (6) in two hours and 49 minutes on another sweltering day in south-west London.
Unlike during the earlier rounds, the 22-year-old from Spain came flying out of the blocks with a break in the first game.
He raced through the first set as if he had somewhere else to be, dropping just four points on serve – and none behind his first serve – in just 35 minutes.
An hour and a quarter had passed – as well as two interruptions for spectators struggling in the heat – before Fritz got so much as a look at a break point.
But at 6-5 Alcaraz had one of his occasional lapses in concentration, a double fault handing Fritz three set points, and one long forehand later the match was level.
However, in the third set he dropped just one point on serve and broke twice to edge back ahead with exactly two hours on the clock.
The fourth went with serve – including a four-ace game from Fritz – and rumbled into a tie-break.
A sizzling Fritz backhand winner helped him bring up two set points, but Alcaraz saw both off before converting his first match point.
'I mean, I had my chances, for sure,' said Fritz. 'I definitely feel like I had good looks on those points in the tie-breaker to force a fifth set.
'Obviously in hindsight I can say all the things I should have done on those points, but realistically I should have been able to get one of them, force a fifth.
'Whatever happens in the fifth, happens in the fifth. But I thought that I played a good match.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Jannik Sinner gifts Princess Charlotte and Prince George signed ball after Wimbledon win
Watch the moment Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner gifted Princess Charlotte and Prince George a signed tennis ball after toppling Carlos Alcaraz. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner dropped the first set to a backhand winner from Alcaraz but bounced back immediately, breaking early in the second and maintaining control to win 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday (13 July). The victory earned Sinner his first Wimbledon crown and the fourth Grand Slam title of his career, adding to his two Australian Open wins and one US.
Leader Live
20 minutes ago
- Leader Live
Iga Swiatek is back and Jack Draper needs time – what we learned at Wimbledon
Here, the PA news agency looks at six things we learned from the 2025 Championships. Iga Swiatek has positioned herself back among the top three in the women's game with Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff. The Pole did not feature on many lists of potential champions after her clay-court struggles but unexpectedly found comfort and joy on what had been her least favourite surface. And even Swiatek at her most dominant has never won a French Open final 6-0 6-0 – the fate of poor Amanda Anisimova, whose maiden grand slam decider turned rapidly into a nightmare. It was a thrilling fortnight with shocks throughout but all roads eventually led to a Sinner versus Carlos Alcaraz final, the latest chapter in an increasingly gripping rivalry which looks likely to endure for years. Alcaraz had threatened to make it a one-sided duel having won their last five meetings, including last month's epic five-setter in the French Open final. But Sinner got his revenge for that, dethroning the two-time champion for a first Wimbledon title and a fourth grand slam crown, one behind the Spaniard. The US Open promises to be a fascinating next instalment. Novak Djokovic was forced to admit age is catching up with him after falling to Sinner in the semi-finals, signalling the final throes of the drawn-out changing of the guard in men's tennis. The 38-year-old had suffered a fall late on in his quarter-final win over Flavio Cobolli, and his aching limbs simply could not cope with the power and athleticism of the 23-year-old world number one. The 24-time grand slam winner did vow to be back next year, but there is an inescapable feeling that Wimbledon, who always make a good job of paying tribute to its former champions, could be hosting Djokovic's farewell party. It has been a great season so far for Jack Draper, with Britain's number one climbing into the world's top four, but he is still searching for how best to impose his game on grass. As the 23-year-old said after losing to former finalist Marin Cilic in the second round: 'I think there's a bit of a misconception, just because I'm a 6ft 4in lefty, I must be incredible on grass.' Cilic gave Draper a lesson in how to play on the surface but the British number one lacks nothing in attitude or professionalism and will surely crack the code at some point. Unlike Draper, Emma Raducanu knows exactly how to get the best out of her game on grass and she again performed strongly at the All England Club. A second-round victory over former champion Marketa Vondrousova was very impressive and she was unfortunate to lose out to world number one Sabalenka in one of the matches of the tournament. A key feature of Raducanu's success was her close partnership with coach Mark Petchey, but she faces more uncertainty on that front with Petchey unwilling to give up his media career. Raducanu thrives with people she trusts around her so finding a stable set-up must be the priority. Wimbledon rolled out electronic line calling for the first time after dispensing with line judges, and it was not without its teething problems. The most high-profile mistake came during Sonay Kartal's fourth-round defeat to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, when the system was inadvertently turned off and did not flag that a shot from the British player was out. There was another embarrassing malfunction during Taylor Fritz's quarter-final victory over Karen Khachanov, when 'fault' was incorrectly announced after the American's forehand landed well inside the baseline. Raducanu and Draper had earlier questioned the technology's accuracy, while Khachanov even said the absence of line judges made him feel 'lonely' on court.
Telegraph
25 minutes ago
- Telegraph
BBC risks learning the hard way that Andrew Castle and Co need a refresh
The BBC had a solid fortnight at Wimbledon, with many of the strengths and weaknesses of its coverage the same as ever. Since Sue Barker was, incorrectly, moved on, Clare Balding has been the lead presenter, supported by Isa Guha, and the pundit roster of John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Pat Cash, Tracy Austin, Tim Henman and Annabel Croft is a line-up that is firmly settled indeed, and bordering on stuck in the mud. That said, the booking of Andre Agassi for the men's semi-final was a real coup. He was a breath of fresh air, charismatic and full of insights. The only downside was that he rather showed up some of the regulars. Andrew Castle didn't have a great tournament and has taken on the unfortunate status of the commentator that many watchers say they love to hate, and that can be a difficult position from which to escape, particularly if there's an A+ alternative like Andrew Cotter warming the bench. One particular exchange with Agassi during the Carlos Alcaraz-Taylor Fritz semi-final found Castle wittering on about the various celebrities in the Royal Box and pointing them out to his American guest. This column bows to nobody in its admiration of Dame Elaine Paige, whose dominance of elite musical theatre in the early eighties saw her put together a sustained run of excellence with Evita-Cats-Chess-Sunset Boulevard, the likes of which we may never see again. But she was, unsurprisingly, not a figure of interest for Agassi. On and on Castle went, past the woman who had a top-10 hit with the haunting Memory from Cats, past Benedict Cumberbatch and Sachin Tendulkar, eventually offering up for Andre's consideration the wretched personage of Sir Nick Clegg, at whose mention the Las Vegas native had finally had enough. Castle: 'That was Nick Clegg, our former deputy prime minister.' Agassi: 'People watching are watching for tennis, not for this.' Can we keep him? For the final itself, McEnroe had his US commentary duties, so it was Henman and Castle with Todd Woodbridge. Henman and Woodbridge are perfectly acceptable co-commentators but not going to race the pulse. One wonders if Castle has been instructed to give a 'this is a national occasion not just a sports match' general interest feel to the commentary because there was again a lot of stuff about the celebs on show, the vibe around Wimbledon and all that. With such an exciting match-up, you'd have hoped the sport could speak for itself. Another tennis star who has given the BBC coverage something different in recent years is Nick Kyrgios, but he had not been hired by the Beeb this time and instead had been snapped up by TNT Sports, which showed both finals live. Obviously the viewing figures will be a tiny fraction of the free-to-air BBC but, as Des Lynam wrote in these pages recently, rival broadcasters are circling for tennis and you wouldn't bet on the crown jewel being screwed down in the BBC display case forever if Wimbledon rights went on the open market. That's tomorrow's problem, but over on TNT Sports on Sunday, an experiment: 'Wimbledon Watchalong'. A nice idea, and fortunately not a clone of the Jeff Stelling Soccer Saturday format where you don't get to see the action but instead have it erratically relayed to you by Paul Merson. In fact, the pictures of the Centre Court action were as on the BBC, with commentary from Alastair Eykyn but, innovatively, a studio panel of Dan Evans, Kyrgios and CoCo Vandeweghe chipping in with observations. Some were very illuminating, such as Evans explaining about how Alcaraz was varying where he stood to receive the second serve. Some were enjoyably revealing, such as Kyrgios saying: 'When I used the underarm serve it is disrespectful to the game but when anyone else does it they are a genius'. Others were just left-field, such as the Aussie issuing a come-and-get me plea to Anne Hathaway: 'I'd love to invite her [to sit in my player's box]. She's my celebrity crush.' Vandeweghe's advice? 'Shoot your shot.' Overall, the format worked, not least because it was helmed with humour and grace by Craig Doyle, who managed to get the best out of the unpredictable Kyrgios. Bit different, would watch again. The BBC's coverage, by contrast, is due a refresh.
