15/07/2025

SPORTS TUESDAY | JULY 15, 2025

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Alcaraz says Jannik rivalry is a class apart

FACTBOX Jannik Sinner Age: 23 Nation: Italy ATP Ranking: 1

CARLOS ALCARAZ said he could hold his head high despite being unseated from his Wimbledon throne by Jannik Sinner yesterday and the Spaniard praised their hot rivalry for being several notches higher than the others on the men’s tour. Alcaraz’s bid for a third straight title at the All England Club ended with a loss on Centre Court, leaving him to digest his first Grand Slam final defeat. “It’s always a bad feeling losing matches. It’s a little bit worse when you lose in a final,” said Alcaraz, who narrowly beat Sinner in a five-set humdinger at the French Open last month. “I’m just proud about everything I’ve done in the last four weeks on grass at London. I leave Wimbledon, the court, with my head held really high because I did everything that I could. “I played against someone who played an

going to get better. “I’m just really grateful for that because it gives me the opportunity to just give my 100% every practice, every day, just to be better. The level that I have to maintain and I have to raise if I want to beat Jannik is really high.” Alcaraz said he had no doubt that Sinner would learn from his near 5 ½ hour loss at Roland Garros, where the Italian squandered three championship points, and hit back. “I know he’s a really nice player and a huge champion. Champions learn from their losses,” Alcaraz said.

unbelievable game. So I’m just a little bit sad about losing, but with my head held really high.” Alcaraz said his rivalry with Sinner was great for the pair and also for tennis, which has had to endure the retirements of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray in recent years with fellow great Novak Djokovic in the twilight of a glorious career. The young duo have now shared eight of the last nine Grand Slam titles, with each winning four. “Every time we play each other, I think our level is really high. We don’t see a level like this... I don’t see any player playing against each other, having the level that we’re playing when we face each other,” Alcaraz added. “This rivalry, it’s becoming better and better … we’re playing in the finals of Grand Slams, finals of Masters and the best tournaments in the world. It’s

Seeding: 1 Grand Slam titles: 4 (Australian Open 2024, 2025; US Open 2024; Wimbledon 2025) EARLY LIFE 0 Born in the northern Italian vil lage of Innichen, Sinner began playing tennis at age three. CAREER TO DATE 0 Began his professional career playing on the ITF Circuit in 2018. 0 Won the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals by beating Alex de Minaur. Ended the year ranked 78th in the world, winning the ATP Newcomer of the Year award. 0 Won the 2020 Sofia Open, his first ATP title, and became the youngest Italian to win a tour level title in the Open Era. Ended the year ranked 37th in the world. 0 In 2021, he won the Great Ocean Road Open, Washington Open, Sofia Open and European Open. Ended the year ranked No. 10. 0 Reached his first Grand Slam semifinal at Wimbledon 2023 and won his first Masters 1000 title at the Canadian Open. He also reached a career-high rank ing of world No. 4, becoming just the second Italian to reach the top five. 0 Helped Italy to win the Davis Cup after a gap of 47 years in November 2023. 0 Beat Daniil Medvedev to win his first Grand Slam title at the 2024 Australian Open. 0 Tested positive for the steroid clostebol in two samples taken in March 2024 but received no suspension after the International Tennis Integrity Agency (Itia) found the positive tests were due to contamination from his physiotherapist. 0 Became the world’s No. 1 ranked player after reaching the French Open semifinals in June 2024. 0 Beat Taylor Fritz to win his first US Open title in 2024. 0 Won the Shanghai Masters and finished 2024 with his first ATP Finals crown. 0 Retained the Australian Open men’s singles title in 2025. 0 In February 2025, Sinner accepted a three-month ban fol lowing a deal with the World Anti-Doping Agency, which had challenged a tribunal’s decision to clear him after the two posi tive tests in 2024. 0 Avenged his 2025 French Open final loss against Alcaraz by beat ing him at the 2025 Wimbledon final, securing his first title at the All England Club. REUTERS

“I knew from the beginning he was going to learn from that final and not make the same mistakes. The way he played today, it was really high. I wasn’t surprised at all.” – Reuters Sinner rises above adversity World No. 1 banishes Roland Garros demons, eyes golden era after Wimbledon glory

J ANNIK SINNER spoke of his pride at overcoming months of adversity on and off the court after claiming his first Wimbledon title by dethroning rival Carlos Alcaraz yester day. The ice-cool 23-year-old beat the Spaniard 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to become Italy’s first Wimbledon singles cham pion and claim his fourth Grand Slam title. Sinner’s third major came at this year’s Australian Open where he retained the title despite the dark cloud of a possible ban for a doping violation hanging over his head. Tennis authorities found the world No. 1 bore “no fault or negligence” for a positive test for anabolic steroid closte bol – Sinner saying it had inadvertently entered his system via a massage from a team member – but he accepted a three-month ban from World Anti Doping Agency (Wada) in February. His title yesterday was his first since returning in May and came five weeks after losing an epic French Open final to Alcaraz in which he squandered three match points. “Very emotional, even if I don’t cry,” Sinner told reporters. “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 every practice session, even if I was struggling at times mentally. Maybe even more in practice sessions because I feel like when I play the match, I can switch off and just play. I believe that this helped me a lot.” Sinner praised his team, including Australian coach Darren Cahill, for helping him bounce back from the heartache of Paris and snap a five match losing streak against Alcaraz. Cahill said it was down to Sinner’s resilience. “I think you could see that from the first match that he played, that he wasn’t carrying any baggage from Roland Garros,” Cahill told reporters. “That’s

“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. “The rivalry is real. Hopefully it’s going to be there for the next 10 or 12 years.” – Reuters/AFP

not easy to do. “It’s easy for us to say that in words, to put it to one side, but for the player to wipe it away and be able to come here with the mentality that he had, is 100% credit to him.” Sinner said the way he lost to Alcaraz in Paris had actually made it easier to move on. “I always tried to be

honest with myself … I always tried to accept it,” he said. “I believe if you lose a Grand Slam final that way, it’s much bet ter like this than when someone kills you. “I did a lot of intensity

in every practice because I felt like that I could play very good. That’s why I also said after Roland Garros that it’s not the time to be down, because another Grand Slam is coming up, and I did great here.” 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 quar ters, the other one in the semis, and another one in the final.

Jannik Sinner celebrates with the trophy after winning the 2025 Wimbledon men’s final against Carlos Alcaraz (not pictured) on Sunday. – REUTERSPIC

Murray, Nadal snub Wimbledon completely in 2025

ANDY MURRAY and Rafael Nadal have their own reasons for not attending Wimbledon this year, with half of the “Fab Four” missing from SW19. Novak Djokovic appeared as the sole competitor remaining, reaching the semifinals before being dismantled by Jannik Sinner, while Roger Federer returned as the red carpet was rolled out for the eight-time winner in the Royal Box to watch the Serb. Murray and Nadal would, and have previously, received the same treatment but perhaps curiously, neither icon turned up to the championships at all in 2025.

enjoying the tournament from a different perspective. “I hope in the future I can go back to Wimbledon. Now I’m in a different phase of life.” From his home in Manacor, he cheered Alcaraz on and wouldn’t be surprised if the 23-year-old eclipsed his legacy. “It won’t bother me at all if by the end of his career Carlos has done better than me,” Nadal added. “And on grass I think he does better things than I did because he has a better serve and a better volley than I had at his age.” – Express Newspapers

watch, I obviously would take them,” Murray explained. “Or if a British player made the final I would go. “I went to the Djokovic vs (Carlos) Alcaraz final a couple of years ago, just because I had a feeling it was going to be a great match. But I won’t be there otherwise.” Nadal, meanwhile, is enjoying a new phase of his life in retirement and is trying his best to stay away from the Grand Slams. When asked by The Times if he was sad he was not attending Wimbledon for the final, Nadal replied: “Honestly no, I’ve had a change of life. I’m

Murray would have, if he stayed on as Djokovic’s coach. But the pair split in May before the French Open. The 38-year-old insisted that he only watches tennis in person if he has a professional responsibility to do so. “I don’t have any plans to go,” he told The Guardian last month. “I’m not working there. I don’t go to watch tennis as a fan.” However, he was willing to reconsider that decision if his kids ask to visit the grounds or if a British player had reached a singles final. “But if one of my kids wanted to go along and