ATP Tour

Sinner seeks redemption vs. Alcaraz in blockbuster Wimbledon final

As Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner continue to monopolise Grand Slam titles, it's far from a hot take to call them the heirs apparent to the Big 3. The top two players in the PIF ATP Rankings will square off in Sunday's Wimbledon final (4 p.m. BST/11 a.m. EDT), supercharging their Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry with a second meeting in as many Grand Slam finals.

The young superstars — Alcaraz, 22, and Sinner, 23 — have won seven of the past eight major singles trophies, evenly splitting the six on offer since the start of 2024. But rather than letting the success fuel their respective egos, the Spanish and Italian champions maintain perspective. If you equate their professional careers to a five-set match, the length of each of their past three Grand Slam meetings, both players are perhaps early in the second set.

"We are still really young," Alcaraz said, adding that they would need another five or 10 years of similar results "to be at the same table" as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Sinner, asked what he might label himself and his Spanish rival as a cohort, had a similarly grounded response: "No name yet, because you cannot compare what the Big 3 did for 15-plus years. Six Grand Slams are one and a half years. It's not that big yet," he said.

Another "big" debate surrounding this rivalry: Just how significant is Alcaraz's five-match winning streak (dating back to the Indian Wells 2024) and his 8-4 Lexus ATP Head2Head advantage against the Italian? Sinner may be the runaway No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings — he will leave London with a lead of 3,430 or 2,030 points, depending on Sunday's result — but he cannot outrun Alcaraz when the Spaniard is across the net.

Alcaraz's two wins this season against Sinner (Rome, Roland Garros) are reflected in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, where he can stretch his lead to 2,940 points with the Wimbledon title. More than halfway through the 2025 season, that would be a sizable cushion in the battle for year-end World No. 1.

Sinner nearly snapped the streak at Roland Garros, but Alcaraz saved three championship points to win the instant classic, 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2). The Italian played just two matches in between that defeat and Wimbledon, losing to Alexander Bublik in the Halle second round. While he said the gutting defeat has not been on his mind in London, he admitted it could flash through his head during Sunday's rematch.

Asked about any potential scar tissue from that match, Alcaraz seemed to suggest the disappointment could prove an advantage for his opponent: "I'm pretty sure he's going to take a lot of things from the French Open final, that he's going to be better," said the Spaniard, who called Sinner "a huge champion".

"He's going to be better physically, he's going to be better mentally," Alcaraz continued. "He's going to be prepared on Sunday to give his 100 per cent. I'm not thinking I have an advantage mentally Sunday because of that match."

The tale of the tape for the Roland Garros final is similar to the outlook for their Wimbledon showdown. Alcaraz's artistic game might benefit more from the natural surface, while Sinner's ruthless efficiency is a constant threat to overwhelm the Spaniard if he is not firing on all cylinders. Outside of Sinner's favoured hard courts, Alcaraz's top level may edge Sinner's best — the dominant 10-2 fifth-set tie-break in Paris the prime example. But the Spaniard is more prone to peaks and valleys in his game.

They have met just once before on grass, in their second overall meeting in the 2022 Wimbledon fourth round, a four-set win for Sinner. Three years later, Alcaraz says he won't bother reviewing that match because they are "completely different players" today.

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Taylor Fritz, whom Alcaraz beat 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6(6) in Friday's semi-finals, also played Sinner three times late in the 2024 season — albeit on hard courts, in the US Open final and twice at the Nitto ATP Finals. Sinner won all three meetings in straight sets.

Analysing the final matchup, the American pointed out Alcaraz's unpredictability as a key differentiator: "[Sinner] is unbelievable at what he does playing from the baseline. I think Carlos is a little more unpredictable with the slicing and the coming to net and the drop shots. Carlos has a lot of different ways to play," he said.

Fritz also compared the movement of Alcaraz's whipped forehand with the flatter, more penetrating nature of Sinner's ground game, noting that he personally is more comfortable facing the latter.

Sinner never let Novak Djokovic get comfortable in his 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 semi-final victory, though the Serbian was physically hampered and unable to truly threaten an upset of the World No. 1. Conversely, the Italian said he had "no concerns" about the elbow issue that required an MRI after a fall in his fourth-round match against Grigor Dimitrov.

While Sinner was four games from defeat against Dimitrov, trailing by two sets before the Bulgarian's unfortunate pectoral injury forced him to retire, he has not lost a set in any of his five other victories this fortnight, including against a red-hot Ben Shelton in the quarters.

Alcaraz has dropped five sets en route to the final — including two in a dramatic opening-round match against Fabio Fognini — but the Spaniard has perfected the art of peaking for the biggest matches. His 5-0 mark in major finals trails only Federer's 7-0 start in Grand Slam title matches.

Alcaraz is also riding a career-best 24 match winning streak, dating back to his Rome title run. He has 33 victories in his past 34 matches.

🚨 THE REMATCH IS HAPPENING 🚨@janniksin will face @carlosalcaraz in the Wimbledon final on Sunday!@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/JedFZHXoZL

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 11, 2025

Both players have plenty of reasons to feel confident entering Sunday's final; both will also walk onto Centre Court with a healthy dose of respect for the singular talents of the other.

It would take a brave pundit to make a prediction on this match with much conviction. When Djokovic was asked his expert opinion, the 24-time champion picked a favourite while remaining firmly on the fence.

"I think 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," said Djokovic, whose example both players hope to follow over the next decade-plus. "But it's just a slight advantage, because Jannik is hitting the ball extremely well. I think it's going to be, again, a very close matchup like we had in Paris."

The Wimbledon final is scheduled for 4 p.m. local time (11 a.m. EDT) on Sunday in London.