Sinner eyes golden era after Wimbledon glory

New Straits Times

3 days ago

LONDON: Jannik Sinner has warned Carlos Alcaraz that he will get even stronger after beating his arch-rival to win his first Wimbledon title on Sunday.
Sinner avenged an agonising French Open final loss against Alcaraz as he battered the Spaniard into submission with a dynamic display of power hitting on Centre Court.
The Italian's 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 victory ended Alcaraz's two-year reign as Wimbledon champion and gave Sinner his fourth Grand Slam crown.
Sinner has reached the last four Grand Slam finals, winning three of them, and the world number one has no intention of resting on his laurels.
"I don't think I'm at my best because at 23 I don't think you can be in your best shape ever. So hopefully I can keep improving," he said.
"I keep looking up to Carlos because even today I felt like he was doing couple of things better than I did.
"That's something we will work on and prepare ourselves because he's going to come for us again.
"We have a big target on us, so we have to be prepared."
It was a cathartic triumph for Sinner after he squandered a two-set lead and blew three championship points against Alcaraz at Roland Garros in June.
Alcaraz had won five successive encounters against the 23-year-old, including finals in Paris, Rome and Beijing, prior to their showdown at the All England Club.
Sinner admitted it was vital to finally beat the world number two for the first time since 2023.
"It is important, for sure, because you know, when you lose several times against someone, it's not easy. But in the same time in the past I felt that I was very close," he said.
"I never pushed myself down. I felt like I did something great because it has been not easy. Coming here and winning Wimbledon, it has been amazing."
While Sinner had spent the last five weeks publicly insisting he would not let his French Open collapse affect him, he revealed he had to work hard to move on from the loss before launching his Wimbledon challenge.
"This is the part where I'm the proudest because it really has not been easy. I always tried to be honest with myself and had the self-talk. You know, what if, what if? I tried to accept it, in a way," said Sinner, who returned from a three-month doping ban in May.
"Even if I don't cry, it feels emotional because only me and the people who are close to me know exactly what we have been through on and off the court, and it has been everything except easy.
"We've tried to push, you know, every practice session, even I was struggling at times mentally.
"That's why I also said after Roland Garros that it's not the time to put me down, no, because another Grand Slam is coming up, and I did great here."
Sinner and Alcaraz have won the past seven majors between them, establishing themselves in a class of their own.
Sinner's coach Darren Cahill expects the pair to battle for supremacy for years to come, but he stopped short of comparing it to the dynastic era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
"It's difficult to compare this rivalry to what we've just had. It's been a golden age in tennis with Novak and Roger and Rafa. They dominated for 20 years," Cahill said.
"To win a Grand Slam back in those days, you had to beat one of them in the quarters, the other one in the semis, and another one in the final.
"These guys still have a ways to go, but they've started incredibly well. Carlos is a big focus, and both of those guys are pushing each other.