At an ideal moment Jannik Sinner finally beats his big rival Carlos Alcaraz again and wins first Wimbledon title

Jannik Sinner does not seem to think of his previous grand slam final if he has to serve for his first Wimbledon title. The three match points he lost in Paris do not prevent him from showing strong tennis in his last service game. It is 40-0, again three match points, this time on his own service.

On the first it doesn’t work. 40-15. Two more options. With Paris in mind, everyone holds his breath. Except Sinner himself, who keeps the peace and plays a hard service through the middle, where opponent Carlos Alcaraz can no longer reach. The new champion celebrates the victory modest: in silence, with two fists in the air.

It is the first time in almost two years that Sinner manages to win from his rival. In Paris he came close five weeks ago, but eventually he had to acknowledge his superior in the Spaniard, who fought back nicely. Alcaraz also won the four encounters before.

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Of the nine games that Sinner has lost since the beginning of 2024, Alcaraz was his opponent five times. A statistics reminiscent of another grand rivalry: from 2005 to 2006, Roger Federer also lost only nine games. Rafael Nadal was his opponent in five of those nine games.

Nadal had crawled in Federer’s head. Every defeat worked mentally through the Swiss, which made it increasingly difficult to beat Nadal. The question was to what extent this same problem would also play with Sinner.

Messy

Sinner does not play the first one and a half set at his best. It is a messy game anyway, in which beautiful points are interspersed by frustrating errors.

Sinner in particular starts sloppy. Although he comes a break, halfway through the first set, but releases it fairly quickly after a game in which he hits several balls. And he continues to make mistakes: not much later he loses the first set.

In the second he immediately breaks the service of Alcaraz, who was unable to hold on to his concentration. A known problem for the young Spaniard. However, the majority of the set seems as if Sinner will return the break. He is vulnerable on his own service, every time he gets into trouble.

If Sinner has brushed away a break chance of the set in his first service game, it becomes clear how much the game means to him. “Come on!“The Italian, who is known to be calm and unperturbed, shouts on the track. He rarely shows his emotions.

In the end, Sinner manages to come out of a number of difficult situations undamaged, after which he can serve for the set. And then suddenly there is nothing left of the vulnerable service: the Italian has no trouble bringing in the second set.

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Detailed apologies

The respect between the players is great, also in an important final like this. A few times one of them slides on the smooth grass, and each time the other person immediately checks whether everything is okay. After a netball or a ‘mishit’ that accidentally turns out to be a winner, the apologies are extensive.

It is reminiscent of the rivalry with which the battle between these two is often compared: that between Federer and Nadal. The sympathy and respect with which they treated each other was one of the reasons that not only herself, but also their rivalry was so popular.

It is now clear that Sinner and Alcaraz have taken over the baton. At 1-1 in sets it is still impossible to predict which way this match will stand out. The party remains changeable, although the Italian’s game has been a bit more aggressive since the end of the second set, with more winners.

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‘Exploding bomb’

At times the player comes up who defeated Novak Djokovic in three impressive sets in the semi -final. “His forehand is actually more of an exploding bomb than a forehand,” says the commentator of British Eurosport at some point admiring. Alcaraz seems dissatisfied. His body language becomes more negative, he is clearly not happy with his game.

If Sinner eventually wins the third set, the question is what Alcaraz can still do. Of course, in Paris he managed to produce one of the most impressive comebacks ever, but today another player seems to be on the track. Less energy goes out of him, he is more negative and flatter. An unexpected twist in the game is not impossible, but seems far away.

That twist does not come either. Sinner has enough for one break, just like in the previous two sets. Alcaraz creates two more chances to undo the break lead, whereby the audience stands completely behind him.

But he is unable to grab the chance, and when Sinner serves a little later before the game, he is supreme. The spectators had clearly hoped for a fifth set, but that appears to be too much to ask.

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