ATP Tour

Alcaraz on Sinner rivalry: 'It gives me the opportunity to be better'

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner added another thrilling chapter to their growing Lexus ATP Head2Head rivalry on Sunday, when Sinner broke a five-match losing streak against the Spaniard with victory in the Wimbledon final.

Following the clash, Alcaraz opened up about their competitive dynamic, emphasising how Sinner’s presence continues to elevate his own game.

“I just am really, really happy about having this rivalry with him. I think it's great for us and it is great for tennis,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference on Sunday. “Every time we play against each other, I think our level is really high. I think we don't watch a level like this, if I'm honest with you. I don't see any player playing against each other having the level that we are playing when we face each other.

“I think, as I said many, many times, this rivalry is getting better and better. We're building a really great rivalry because we're playing finals of Grand Slams, finals of Masters – the best tournaments in the world. It's going to be better and better. I am just really grateful for that because it gives me the opportunity to just give my 100 per cent every practice, every day, just to be better, thanks to that. The level that I have to maintain and I have to raise if I want to beat Jannik is really high.”

Heading into 2026, a key storyline will be on the Career Grand Slam chase. Sinner only needs a Roland Garros title to complete the major collection, while Carlos Alcaraz is just an Australian Open trophy away.

Last month, Alcaraz fended off three championship points to overcome Sinner in a five-hour, 29-minute five-set thriller in the Roland Garros final. Just five weeks later, in the following major, Sinner flipped the script to down the World No. 2 and move to within one major title of the Spaniard (4-5).

Alcaraz is not surprised by how Sinner responded in London despite the mental challenges of his crushing Roland Garros defeat.

“He didn't surprise me at all because I know he's a really nice player and a huge champion,” said Alcaraz, who leads Sinner 8-5 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series. “Champions learn from the losses.

“I knew at the beginning that he was going to learn from that final, not going to make the same mistakes as they did in the Roland Garros final. The way he played today, it was really, really high. I didn't surprise at all. I knew he was going to play like this.”

Congratulations on a phenomenal run Carlos, you will always be a champ here ❤️@Wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/yUDAeHrpDb

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 13, 2025

Alcaraz had never lost a Grand Slam final before Sunday, but he is no stranger to high-stakes heartbreak. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, he fell to Novak Djokovic in the gold medal match and was visibly emotional in the aftermath. However, his outlook following Sunday’s Wimbledon loss to Sinner was noticeably more positive.

“Last year in the Olympics I was really bad emotionally after the match,” Alcaraz said. “It was really, really hard for me to accept that moment. Right now, I think in the past year I've been through different situations that I learned from them. Right now, I'm in a position that I've spoken a few times already that I just accept everything that is coming to me in the way it comes. Like, OK, I just lost a final in a Grand Slam, but I am just really proud about being in a final.

“So right now, I'm not bad at all. I'm just happy. I'm smiling because in my head it was playing the final and I am grateful for that.”

Two-time Wimbledon champion Alcaraz was aiming to become just the fifth player to win three consecutive crowns at SW19 and become just the second man, alongside Bjorn Borg, to win back-to-back Roland Garros and Wimbledon titles in consecutive years.

However, after a fast start, the 22-year-old struggled to trouble Sinner for large periods of his 6-4, 4-6, 4-6, 4-6 three-hour, four-minute defeat.

“The second set I felt [was] really, really important. I feel like I just gave a lot of free points when he was serving the second serve. OK, he has a big first serve. That's obvious. But when you have the chance to return a second serve, I had to do more with those points,” Alcaraz said. “I had to return better. I had to try to be in the position of attack after the return.

“I just felt he was serving really or quite easily, and he was winning his service game quite easily. Because of that, it wasn't able to push him, to have nerves on his service games. So I think I have to be better on that.”

Alcaraz leaves London holding a 48-6 record on the season, while he trails World No. 1 Sinner by 3,430 points in the PIF ATP Rankings.