Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner now take their terrific rivalry from the French Open to Wimbledon
The takeaways from Carlos Alcaraz's fifth-set tiebreaker victory over Jannik Sinner in the riveting and record-breaking French Open men's final were multiple and significant.
Let's start with this: Anyone worried about how men's tennis would survive in the post-Big Three era can rest easy. Alcaraz and Sinner produced 5 1/2 hours of evidence Sunday that the game is in good hands — and that their rivalry will be, and perhaps already is, a transcendent one.
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Winnipeg Free Press
21 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sabalenka's Wimbledon foe is Carson Branstine, a qualifier from California, Canada and Texas A&M
LONDON (AP) — There are plenty of tennis players who might be daunted by the prospect of making their Grand Slam debut against someone ranked No. 1 and in a big stadium — in this case, Aryna Sabalenka at Wimbledon's No. 1 Court. Carson Branstine, though, is embracing the circumstances she'll find herself in Monday. Branstine, 24, is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen — she was born in California and represents Canada, where her mother is from — and helped Texas A&M win the 2024 NCAA title. She is ranked just inside the top 200, but made it into the women's bracket at the All England Club by winning three matches in qualifying last week. 'It's not like I'm a beginner. This is my job, too. We're playing the same tournament, right? It's just exciting. It's cool. And I love that for myself,' Branstine said. 'You never know what can happen. And I like it. I wouldn't want it any other way. This is the coolest thing.' Besides, facing, and eliminating, the top seed is becoming routine lately for her: This is the third consecutive event this month where Branstine is going up against a foe seeded No. 1. She beat Liudmila Samsonova at a grass-court tournament in the Netherlands, then started off Wimbledon qualifying by defeating Loïs Boisson, who was coming off a surprising run to the French Open semifinals. 'Well, of course I go out with: Why not? Because there's a lot of factors in tennis, more than just playing. You never know what can be happening on each side, behind closed doors. It's Wimbledon. It's (Sabalenka's) first round; you've seen a lot of players have tight matches in their first rounds against players that you'd never imagine that (it) would be close,' Branstine said. 'That could easily happen on Monday. You never know. With my game, maybe God's going to come down and say, 'You're going to have the best tennis of your life. You're not going to miss a single ball right now.'' Branstine credits her big serve and confidence to match with driving her recent success. When Sabalenka — a three-time Grand Slam champion and the runner-up to Coco Gauff at Roland-Garros three weeks ago — was asked Saturday what she knows about Branstine, her playing style was not what came to mind. 'I know that she's super pretty,' Sabalenka replied with a laugh. 'The other day, I opened social media, and she was giving an interview. … I was like, 'Oh, my God, this girl is so beautiful.' … That's all I know so far.' Sabalenka planned to discuss tactics with her team and watch some of Branstine's past matches to familiarize herself with what to expect on court. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. 'It's not easy to face someone you've never seen before,' said Sabalenka, who missed Wimbledon a year ago because of an injured shoulder. 'I know that I'll be prepared for her game.' This is the sort of stage Branstine thought about getting to when she was a kid attending the tournament in Indian Wells. 'You go and you see those big courts and you imagine, 'What if that was me? That's my dream. I want to do that one day.' And now it's here,' she said. 'So it's a dream I get to check off my list, and no matter what happens, I'm going to have that for the rest of my life: I got to play the No. 1 player at Court 1 at Wimbledon. It's pretty cool. So I just want to embrace it, really. I just want to take in the moment and play every single point. It's still another match. … And, you know, you never know what can happen.' ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
Winnipeg Free Press
a day ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Carlos Alcaraz loves playing on grass and is trying to win a third Wimbledon title in a row
LONDON (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz's first match on a grass court came just six years ago. He's obviously a quick study. When Wimbledon gets started Monday, the 22-year-old from Spain will play in the first Centre Court match of this fortnight, an honor reserved for the previous year's men's champion. The contest against Fabio Fognini will open Alcaraz's a bid for a third consecutive championship at the place. That's something only four men have achieved in the Open era, which began in 1968: Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. Not bad company. Alcaraz already is 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, which includes going 2-0 at the French Open — which he won three weeks ago via a comeback from two sets down against No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the final — and 1-0 at the U.S. Open. Last year, the No. 2-ranked Alcaraz became the youngest man to win a major trophy on each surface: grass, clay and hard courts. But he's got a fondness for the green stuff. 'The most beautiful tennis that we can watch is on grass. The style that the people bring to the court when they play on grass. … The sound of the ball,' said Alcaraz, who will go into Monday on a career-best 18-match winning streak, including a title at the Queen's Club tournament last weekend. 'The movement is really tough, but when you get it, it's kind of (as though) you're flying.' He loves that it allows him to show off the variety in his game and all of the skills he possesses. Few players smile as much as Alcaraz does while in the thick of things, no matter what challenges might be presented by the foe across the net or the tension of the moment. He is as creative as it gets with a racket in hand, sometimes to his own detriment, and admits enjoying seeing replays on arena video screens after some of his best deliveries (that technology isn't used at the All England Club, but perhaps it should be). 'I really want to hit slices, drop shots, going to the net all the time, playing aggressively,' said Alcaraz, who said he lost to two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray during a round of golf early in the week. 'I think on grass it's the style that you have to play, so that's what I like the most.' It's instructive to hear what Djokovic had to say about Alcaraz after a straight-set loss in last year's final at the All England Club. 'He just was better than me in every aspect of the game,' Djokovic said. 'In movement, in the way he was just striking the ball beautifully, serving great. Everything.' Those words carry weight. Djokovic has won seven of his men's-record 24 Grand Slam trophies at Wimbledon but was the runner-up to Alcaraz in 2023 and 2024. Thursdays Keep up to date on sports with Mike McIntyre's weekly newsletter. When it comes to the idea of joining an elite group by completing a three-peat in two weeks' time, Alcaraz insisted that isn't the sort of thing he really cares about or spends time considering. He wants the title, yes. But where it would place him in history? Leave that to others. 'I really want to lift the trophy,' Alcaraz said. 'But right now, I'm not thinking about who I could join if I win three Wimbledons in a row.' ___ Howard Fendrich has been the AP's tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: More AP tennis:
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Coco Gauff says criticism of Aryna Sabalenka's French Open comments went ‘too far'
LONDON (AP) — It didn't take long for Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka to patch up their relationship after this month's French Open final. Now as Wimbledon is about to start, Gauff is hoping everyone else can also forget what the top-ranked Sabalenka said in the wake of her loss to the American at Roland-Garros. A day after dancing together on Wimbledon's Centre Court in a TikTok video, the two tennis players faced more questions on Saturday about the aftermath of Sabalenka's comments right after the final, when she said her loss had more to do with her own mistakes than Gauff's performance. The Belarusian later wrote to apologize to Gauff and said her comments were 'unprofessional,' but not before she faced some major backlash from fans and pundits — especially in the United States. Gauff is trying to make sure the criticism stops. 'I'm not the person that will fuel hate in the world,' said Gauff, who opens her Wimbledon campaign against Dayana Yastremska on Tuesday. 'I think people were taking it too far. … It was just really targeting and saying a lot of things that I felt were not nice. I didn't want to fuel that more.' Sabalenka, who faces Carson Branstine on No. 1 Court on Monday, said she hopes the TikTok video shows that all is well between the two. 'We are good, we are friends,' the three-time major winner said. 'I hope the U.S. media can be easy on me right now.' Sabalenka reiterated that she never meant to offend Gauff. 'I was just completely upset with myself, and emotions got over me,' she said. 'I just completely lost it.' Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Gauff did acknowledge that she was initially tempted to hit back publicly at Sabalenka, who said the American 'won the match not because she played incredible; just because I made all of those mistakes from … easy balls.' But after Sabalenka reached out to apologize, she was quick to bury any grudge. 'I preach love, I preach light,' Gauff said. 'I just want us to be Kumbaya, live happily, hakuna matata, and be happy here.' ___ AP tennis:
