* The Wimbledon men's singles final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner is scheduled to take place at 10pm tonight (July 13). Dan Tri will broadcast the match live.
The most anticipated rivalry in modern tennis will return to the Wimbledon final tonight, as Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner, the top two players in the ATP rankings, meet for the second time in a Grand Slam final. This will not only confirm their dominance on the big stage, but also cement their claim as worthy successors to the legendary "Big 3".
Carlos Alcaraz enters his third consecutive Wimbledon final (Photo: Getty).
Alcaraz (22) and Sinner (23) have won seven of the last eight Grand Slam titles between them, including six since the start of 2024. Yet despite their success, both young superstars remain modest. If their careers were a five-set match, the length of their last three Grand Slam encounters, they would probably only be in the second set.
"We are still very young," Alcaraz said, stressing that they need another five to 10 years of similar results "to be in the same group" as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Asked about how to name his group and his Spanish rival, Sinner had a similar answer: "No name yet, because you can't compare what the Big 3 have done over 15 years. Six Grand Slam titles in just one and a half years. It's not a big deal yet."
Alcaraz dominates the confrontation, Sinner leads the rankings
Another big debate surrounding this clash is the significance of Alcaraz’s five-match winning streak (since Indian Wells 2024) and 8-4 head-to-head advantage over the Italian. Although Sinner is currently No. 1 in the ATP rankings, leaving London with a lead of 3,430 or 2,030 points depending on the outcome of the final, he has yet to overtake Alcaraz when the Spaniard has been on the other side of the net this year.
Sinner maintains stable form at Wimbledon (Photo: Getty).
Alcaraz's two wins over Sinner (Rome, Roland Garros) this season have opened up a 2,940-point lead in the live rankings if he wins Wimbledon, a significant gap in the race for the year-end world No. 1, with the 2025 season already more than halfway through.
Sinner almost ended Alcaraz's unbeaten run at Roland Garros, but Alcaraz saved three championship points to win the classic 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The Italian played just two matches between that loss and Wimbledon, losing to Alexander Bublik in the second round in Halle. While Sinner said the bitter defeat in Paris had not haunted him, he admitted it could be on his mind in the rematch tonight.
Asked about any potential injuries from that match, Alcaraz seemed to hint that the disappointment could be an advantage for his opponent. "I'm pretty sure Sinner will learn a lot from the Roland Garros final and he will play better. He will be physically better, mentally better. He will be ready to give 100% in the next final. I don't think I have a mental advantage because I won Roland Garros," the Spaniard said.
Opposing styles, home field advantage
Sinner has become Alcaraz's big rival at recent Grand Slam tournaments (Photo: Getty).
The story of the Roland Garros final is similar to the outlook for their Wimbledon final. Alcaraz’s artistic game may benefit more from a natural surface, while Sinner’s formidable performance always threatens to overwhelm the Spaniard if he doesn’t play his best. Off Sinner’s favoured hardcourts, Alcaraz’s peak level can exceed Sinner’s, as exemplified by a 10-2 fifth-set tie-break in Paris last month. However, the Spaniard is prone to ups and downs in his game.
The two players have only met once on grass, in the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2022, with Sinner winning in four sets. Three years on, Alcaraz says he won't bother watching that match again because "they are completely different players" today.
Taylor Fritz, who was defeated 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) by Alcaraz in Friday's semifinals, also played Sinner three times at the end of the 2024 season, albeit on hard courts, in the US Open final and twice at the Nitto ATP Finals. Sinner won all three meetings by close margins.
Analyzing the final match, the American pointed to Alcaraz's unpredictability as a key difference: "Sinner is incredible with what he does from the baseline. I think Alcaraz is a little more unpredictable with his slices, his net shots and his drop shots. Alcaraz has a lot of different ways of playing," he said.
Fritz also compared the movement of Alcaraz's powerful forehand to the flatter, deeper nature of Sinner's ground game, noting that he personally felt more comfortable facing Sinner.
Road to the final
Alcaraz is rated slightly higher than Sinner (Photo: Getty).
Sinner never let Djokovic get comfortable in his 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 semi-final win, although the Serbian was hampered physically and could not really threaten to unseat the world No. 1. The Italian, on the other hand, said he was “not worried” about the elbow problem that required an MRI scan after his fall in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov.
While Sinner was four games away from losing to Dimitrov, trailing by two sets before the Bulgarian’s unfortunate chest injury forced him to retire, Sinner has yet to drop a set in his five other victories over the past two weeks, including a win over in-form Ben Shelton in the quarterfinals.
Alcaraz dropped five sets en route to the final, including two in a dramatic opening match against Fabio Fognini, but the Spaniard has perfected the art of winning the biggest matches. His 5-0 record in major finals is second only to Federer's 7-0 record in Grand Slam finals. Alcaraz is also on a career-best 24-match winning streak dating back to the Rome title. He has won 33 of his last 34 matches.
When asked for his expert opinion, Djokovic, a 24-time champion, picked a strong candidate but remained cautious.
"I think I'll give Alcaraz a little bit of an edge because of the two titles he's won here, and his current game and confidence. But it's just a small edge, because Sinner is hitting the ball extremely well. I think, again, it's going to be a very even match, like we saw in Paris," said Djokovic, who both players hope to emulate over the next decade.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/chung-ket-wimbledon-vinh-quang-goi-ten-sinner-hay-alcaraz-20250713081628868.htm
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