Carlos Alcaraz explains main reason he lost Wimbledon final: ‘I didn't know what to do'

Independent

14 hours ago

Carlos Alcaraz admits there were moments he 'didn't know what to do' in the face of Jannik Sinner 's brilliant play during their final at Wimbledon on Sunday.
Second seed Alcaraz, chasing a third consecutive title in SW19, missed out on a sixth Grand Slam after losing in four sets to fierce rival and world No 1 Sinner.
Alcaraz took the first set on Centre Court but the Italian came storming back to claim his first title at the All England Club.
Alcaraz only landed 53% of his first serves, compared to 62% for Sinner, and the Spaniard acknowledged that Sinner's level was consistently better throughout their three-hour battle, particularly regarding how both returned each other's second serve.
'It was all about him pushing me to the limit in every point,' Alcaraz said. 'Mentally, it's really tough to maintain. When you see the opponent playing such good tennis, I didn't know what to do.
'From the baseline, he was better than me. The big key was the second serves, he was returning really well, then he was in a position to attack with the second ball. It's difficult when you're defending all the time.'
'I just gave him a lot of free points when he had a second serve. He has a big first serve, but when you have the chance to return the second serve, I had to do more with those points.
'He was serving quite easily, winning his service games quite easily. I had to better on that, but it was a great match, I think the level was really high.'
Despite his French Open final heartbreak, Sinner bounced back in impressive fashion on the grass to claim his first non-hard-court Grand Slam. Alcaraz, however, insists he was not surprised that the Italian responded so well.
'He didn't surprise me at all because I know he's a really nice player and a huge champion,' he said.
'Champions learn from the losses. I knew at the beginning that he was going to learn from that final, not going to make the same mistakes as he did in the French Open final.
'The way he played today, it was really, really high. I knew he was going to play like this. Overall, he didn't surprise me at all because I know he's a big champion.'