Carlos Alcaraz’s two-year reign at Wimbledon has been ended, after he was defeated by Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon Men’s Singles final.
Sinner, who spoke to the Royal Family after the match, gave Alcaraz little room to breathe throughout the contest, maintaining his ice-cool composure to see off the reigning two-time Wimbledon champion in four sets.
Despite Alcaraz’s best efforts, he rarely found joy on the Sinner serve. After breaking the Italian in the first set, Alcaraz failed to do so for the rest of the contest, with Sinner ultimately winning 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4.
After the match, Alcaraz took time to congratulate Sinner on his first Wimbledon triumph.
Carlos Alcaraz tells Jannik Sinner his Wimbledon title is ‘very well deserved’
Alcaraz, who has consistently proved to be one of the more polite players on tour, took to Instagram to congratulate his opponent after the momentous contest.
He said: “Congratulations Jannik Sinner for your first Wimbledon! Very well deserved!
“Thank you everyone for your support! I feel at home and it’s really special to play here!
“See you all next year!”
The victory was certainly well deserved. Sinner showed little sign of any after-effects from the brutal loss in the French Open final in June, instead showcasing a masterclass in grass-court coverage to render Alcaraz virtually helpless at points in the match.
Some may have expected nerves to creep in during the last few games but Sinner did not waver, even when two break points down at 4-3 in the fourth set.
The Italian has won three of the last four Grand Slams and will likely be the favourite heading into the US Open in August.
‘Thank you for the player you are’
Speaking to the BBC on-court after the match, Sinner made sure to thank Alcaraz.
He said: “I would like to start with Carlos. Again, amazing tournament. But mostly, thank you for the player you are.
“It’s so difficult to play against you but we have, as you said, an amazing relationship off the court and on the court we just try to build up and for doing that we need the best teams in the world and also you have the best team.
“So keep going, keep pushing. You’re going to hold many times this [Wimbledon trophy].”
The Italian couldn’t avoid making a joke, adding: “You have already two [Wimbledon trophies], so…”
