How did Jannik Sinner strike back vs. Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon?

Sinner and Alcaraz Continue Their Love-Compete Affair

Down and Out in Paris and London was the title of a book written by George Orwell. A better title for what Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz recently accomplished in these two cities would be Up, Up, and Away. For at Wimbledon, these two future Hall of Famers once again showed what separates them from all others in men’s tennis.

Read more: Jannik Sinner reignites Carlos Alcaraz rivalry at Wimbledon

While certainly not as dramatic or compelling as last month’s Roland Garros final, that another Sinner-Alcaraz match happened so quickly was quite exciting. Not since 2008, when Rafael Nadal beat Roger Federer in the finals of Roland Garros and then followed up that effort with a scintillating five-set win at Wimbledon, have two men met back-to back in the finals of those two events.

“Every time we playing against each other, I think our level is really high,” said Alcaraz.

That Sinner won this one adds yet more spice to the mix. Hall of Famer Charlie Pasarell has a signature saying: competition breeds excellence. And so, as in the best of relationships, be it in love, sports, or many other interactive endeavors, with Sinner and Alcaraz we get to witness two people asking questions of one another—and daring the other to improve or be left behind.

At Wimbledon, Sinner was the one who came up with better answers. One thing Sinner did was defuse Alcaraz’s deadly drop shot, emphatically demonstrating that he was not going to surrender the front part of the court. And to blunt one tactic is not merely singular, but can trigger a viral effect, in this case allowing Sinner to better impose himself from the baseline.

One major way Sinner did that was to drive the ball wide to the Alcaraz forehand, be it with a missile-like down-the-line backhand or a heavy crosscourt forehand laced with topspin.

“Well, you know, the differences are very small and the margins are very tiny,” said Sinner. “Today I felt like that I got lucky couple of times. I know hitting some lines. The things what went his way in Paris went my way this time.”

And so the competitive intimacy these two have built continues. Sinner and Alcaraz have won the last seven majors. Perhaps they’ll meet in Toronto and Cincinnati. And then, of course, there’s the possibility of what might happen at the US Open. One interesting aspect of Sinner and Alcaraz is that they are building their resumes in sync with one another. Though as of 12 months ago, Alcaraz had won four majors compared to Sinner’s one, the tally now stands just 5-4 for Alcaraz. This is much different than such rivalries as Federer-Nadal, Nadal-Djokovic and Evert-Navratilova, where one player for a much longer time had won more majors than the other.

Perhaps because Sinner and Alcaraz are so clearly growing up together makes it easier to see what makes their relationship appealing in a different way than the generational tussle that has often defined other rivalries. Rather than seeking to take away territory from an elder, these two are building a kingdom together.