Absorbing Sinner-Alcaraz rivalry set for next chapter
Sinner, 23, and 22-year-old Alcaraz have created a duopoly in the men's game over the past two seasons.Because of his brilliance, Sinner has remained the world number one - despite serving a three-month doping ban this year in a case which rocked the sport. The pair have gained a grip on the Grand Slam tournaments, winning the past six majors between them.Their epic French Open battle was another demonstration of how the absorbing rivalry - which the ATP Tour has long pinned its hopes on filling the Federer-Nadal-Novak Djokovic void - could be a blockbuster for years to come."You cannot compare what the 'Big Three' did for 15-plus years. [Our rivalry] is not that big yet," said three-time Grand Slam champion Sinner, who is aiming for his first non-hard court major."This is the second consecutive Grand Slam that we are in the final and playing each other - I believe it's good for the sport. "The more rivalries we have from now on, the better it is, because people want to see young player going against each other."The quality, excitement and tension of the recent Roland Garros final accelerated interest in the pair.Alcaraz fighting back from two sets down - and having saved three championship points - to win a five-setter in over five hours has whetted the appetite for Wimbledon.The five-time major champion expects to be pushed "to the limit" again at the All England Club."It's going to be a great day, a great final. I'm just excited about it," he said."I just hope not to be five and a half hours again. But if I have to, I will."
Ice versus fire - the 21st century version
The contrasting personalities are reminiscent of another pair who created a rivalry which continues to endure almost 50 years later.Bjorn Borg was the 'ice' compared to John McEnroe's 'fire' and there are similar characteristics in Sinner and Alcaraz.Sinner is ice-cold during matches and little appears to faze the mild-mannered Italian - on or off court.He was able to stay sanguine during the doping controversy and has also moved on quickly from the brutal nature of his French Open defeat."We keep talking about the fact that he's got really good self-awareness and puts everything into perspective," Sinner's coach Darren Cahill told BBC Sport."I think that's part of the reason why he's been able to do what he's been able to do here. "I would have been heartbroken after losing a final where I had match points, but he sees the big picture really well and is why he's able to bounce back so quickly."Alcaraz is not as combustible as the famously volatile McEnroe. But he does possess a more colourful side than Sinner.He bellows 'Vamos' when big moments go his way in matches and also regularly shows his emotion by breaking out into beaming smiles.The natural warmth and authenticity of the Spaniard, plus his array of stunning shot-making, makes him relatable to fans."He's got the X-Factor - he's a performer," American great Billie Jean King told BBC Sport.
Who's got the advantage?
Sinner has been the dominant player on the ATP Tour for the past two seasons, winning 98 of his 109 matches (90%) and lifting nine titles.In the same timeframe, Alcaraz has won 102 of his 120 matches (85%) and claimed nine titles.But it is the Spaniard who is dominating their head-to-head record.The triumph on the Paris clay was his fifth straight victory over Sinner, extending his dominance to eight wins from their 12 career meetings."When Sinner brings his A game there is no-one that can beat him - other than Alcaraz," said seven-time major champion McEnroe, who is a BBC Sport analyst during the championships.
"On the other hand if Alcaraz doesn't bring his A game then Sinner will win every time. So it's going to be extremely interesting."Alcaraz has moved through the gears nicely at the All England Club and goes into the final - unlike Sinner - having suffered no injury problems over the past fortnight.After beating Djokovic in the semi-finals, Sinner said the elbow injury he suffered in the fourth round against Grigor Dimitrov would provide "no issues" on Sunday."I will give a slight edge to Carlos as a favourite because of the two titles he's won here and the way he's playing and the confidence he has right now," seven-time champion Djokovic said."But it's just a slight advantage because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well. "It's going to be, again, a very close match-up like we had in Paris."
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Defence Another weak spot for Chelsea is the defence, many would say. As Blues fans will know, the key to a good title challenge is a tight ship at the back. The partnership between the two centre-backs and the goalkeeper is imperative to any title-winning team. Jose Mourinho's first side had John Terry, Ricardo Carvalho, and Petr Cech. I mean, they were a simply ridiculous trio, the best the league has ever seen. The record 15 goals conceded in the 2004-05 season will likely never be bettered. In the Club World Cup final, Maresca started with Levi Colwill and Trevoh Chalobah at the back. Both are talented young defenders, don't get me wrong, as they proved by keeping a clean sheet against a particularly potent PSG attack, but they don't scream a title-winning partnership. They, of course, have Wesley Fofana, but he seems to have muscles made of cheesestring and can barely keep fit, while Tosin Adarabioyo is a good squad player, but not up to the level of the top defenders in the country. It's not a department Chelsea have strength in depth in. Compare that to Liverpool, who have Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate as their starting pair. They were the two who set the solid foundation for Liverpool's title triumph last season. Van Dijk gets into any team in the world, even at 34 years old, while Konate, who has just a year left on his current deal, is one of the best young defenders in Europe, which is why Liverpool fans are so scared of losing him. While many believe the Reds have the best defensive duo in the league, you could make a case for Arsenal's William Saliba and Gabriel, who have been imperious at the back for the past three seasons. They may not have a league title to their name, but their partnership has already become one of the best we have seen in the Premier League era. And of course, Manchester City have a plethora of talented centre-backs. From Ruben Dias to Josko Gvardiol (who also does a brilliant job at left-back, and Manuel Akanji to Nathan Ake, their defence is stacked. Their quality in that area also goes much deeper than Chelsea's, with the likes of Abdukodir Khusanov regularly impressing when given the chance. However, despite their weakness in the heart of the back four, the Blues arguably have the best left-back in the league, Marc Cucurella. Many may think that is a bold statement, but the Spaniard was superb for the Blues last campaign, even coming up with the goods going forward, too. Although Maresca should get cover for the 26-year-old, who notched up over 5,000 minutes last season (which includes the Club World Cup). Midfield OK, now we are talking. Chelsea have taken a bit of a beating in the first two areas of the pitch, but now it's time to heap praise on their strongest department: the midfield. The partnership of Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez is among the best in the world; they marry together like peanut butter and jelly in a sandwich. Caicedo's incredible work ethic and ability to break up play are the foundation for the Blues' forward play (the peanut butter). At the same time, he has allowed Fernandez to thrive going forward, with the Argentine supplying style and sweetness through his eye-of-the-needle passing (the jam). Now, that may sound like a lot of waffle and a weird way to explain how good they are, but who doesn't like a peanut butter jelly sandwich? The same goes for Caicedo and Fernandez, you simply can't ignore just how brilliant they have been; the platform for Chelsea's success. Just look at how they pressed PSG's midfield out of the game. We haven't seen anybody do that; it was quite remarkable. As Gareth Bale said on DAZN, 'PSG have been PSG'd.' Don't forget, Enzo Maresca also has the extremely talented Romeo Lavia at his disposal, while he is also utilising Reece James' passing ability and strength to help anchor the midfield, something he used to do in his loan days at Wigan. Now, are they the best in the league? Many would say yes, but it's also hard to look past Liverpool's midfield trio of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Alister, and Dominik Szoboszlai, who were the beating heart of the club's title triumph. And now Slot has added the £116.5m Florian Wirtz to the mix. Not bad, am I right? With those four in red, in addition to the likes of Curtis Jones, you'd have to say that the Reds have stronger depth in the midfield department. Chelsea's starting midfield, if all fit, could be considered the strongest in the division, no doubt, alongside the Reds. That's not to say that Arsenal and Manchester City aren't also solid in that department. The Gunners have Declan Rice, who many would argue was the best midfielder in the league last season, while City have the Ballon d'Or winner Rodri in their ranks and have just added the talented Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki. However, while Rodri was missing for most of the season, City's midfield was fairly weak last campaign, getting overrun on countless occasions, which led to their collapse in the middle of the campaign. I imagine Gunners fans reading this will feel hard done by, considering they have just added Martin Zubimendi to their ranks, one of the best holding midfielders in the world. However, it is yet to be seen how he will gel with Rice, which is why Chelsea have the edge over them, for now. Attack Last season, Mikel Arteta called Chelsea the 'best attacking team in the league'. High praise, and partly justified. With Cole Palmer firing on all cylinders, the Blues were banging in the goals and ripping teams apart for the first six months of the 2024-25 season. They were most certainly up there with Liverpool as the league's most frightening going forward. On Sunday, they showed their potential again. With Palmer stealing the show, ripping PSG to shreds with his quick thinking and silky smooth skills, and Joao Pedro's ability to open the pitch and provide the finishing touch, they showcased that they are a force to be reckoned with. The players Maresca has at his disposal in forward areas are quite ridiculous. Liam Delap and Nicolas Jackson are also options up top, while Pedro Neto is nailed down as the Blues' starting left winger. Don't forget they have Jamie Gittens to add to the mix, too. Scary. That being said, Liverpool, City, and Arsenal also have quite terrifying attacks. The Reds have Mohamed Salah, who netted 29 league goals last season to win the Golden Boot, which is arguably enough to explain why they are the best going forward in the division. Slot also has Cody Gakpo, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, and Federico Chiesa to call on. No wonder why they scored 86 goals in the league last term, the most by 14, and 20 more than Maresca's Chelsea. As previously mentioned, they have added Wirtz to the squad, which will only make them stronger in attack. Arsenal, however, while they finished second last season, could be considered blunt in attack in comparison to the Reds and the Blues. Now, they do have Bukayo Saka, a world-class winger on his day, but they have relied too heavily on the 23-year-old in recent years to supply the goods. So, when he got injured last season, they fell apart up top. Their lack of a 20-goal-per-season striker is also a problem. Kai Havertz was injured for the last three months of the season, but still finished as their top scorer in the league on just nine goals. That's never going to be good enough to win the league. If they do indeed sign Viktor Gyokeres from Sporting Lisbon, then maybe you could say their attack is on par with Chelsea's, but for now, it's most certainly not. Then you have City. It's hard to draw a real comparison to the rest because of Erling Haaland. At times, it feels as though he is City's only real outlet. Yes, they have Omar Marmoush, but outside of him, it is rare to see attackers find the scoresheet. Savinho and Jeremy Doku, while both skillful and good at building sustained attacks, do not contribute enough in front of goal, while Phil Foden looks to have lost his scoring touch after banging in 19 league goals just two seasons ago. In terms of names and talent, City certainly have an attack that can drive them to the title, but is it better than Chelsea's? I'm not so sure. It certainly isn't on par with Liverpool's. At the top half of the pitch, Maresca's side unquestionably have enough talent to drive them to a title. However, at the back is where they need to bring bodies in if they are to challenge the top three.
