World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz believes the rivalry against Jannik Sinner gives him an opportunity to be better on the tour. Alcaraz lost the Wimbledon final against Sinner in four sets as the Italian dominated the contest after losing the opening set.
Sinner became the first Italian to win the Wimbledon title and earned a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win on Sunday. Alcaraz and Sinner are regarded as the future of the game and have already played some epic games on the tour.
The duo had played a rollercoaster Roland Garros final in which Alcaraz registered a thrilling win. The Spaniard was able to defend three championship points against the Italian in the fourth set.
Alcaraz has an 8-5 ATP head-to-head record against Sinner on the tour.
“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.”
The Spaniard said Sinner’s performance in the Wimbledon final didn’t surprise him as he is a quality player.
“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.”
Alcaraz’s Wimbledon final loss against Sinner was his first ever in a Major final.
