By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) -For Jannik Sinner, Sunday’s Wimbledon final offers a chance of redemption; for Carlos Alcaraz it is an opportunity to join an elite club of men who have won the title three years in succession.
There are many other plot lines but above all the showdown will help to cement a rivalry that could dominate tennis for a decade.
Fears of a void in the wake of the golden era of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic were real — surely nothing would ever be the same again after an age in which they took the sport to unimaginable heights.
From 2003 to 2023, the trio accumulated 66 Grand Slam titles between them and their rivalries were complex and compelling in equal measure. Djokovic is not done yet but a new era has begun and it promises to be just as spectacular as the previous one.
Between them, Alcaraz and Sinner have shared the last six Grand Slam titles and their mesmeric clash last month in the longest-ever French Open final is being touted as one of the greatest of all time.
The Spaniard came back from two sets down and saved three match points on his way to a fifth Grand Slam title, in the process taking his head-to-head record over Sinner to 8-4, including winning all of the last four.
It was a painful defeat for world number one Sinner but he has not had to wait long to try to set the record straight.
“He is the favourite. He won here two times in a row. He’s again in the final. It’s very tough to beat him on grass but I like these challenges,” the 23-year-old Sinner said of Alcaraz after beating Djokovic to reach his first Wimbledon final.
“This is the second consecutive Grand Slam that we are in the final and playing each other, which is great from my side. I believe it’s good for the sport.”
Sinner’s three Grand Slam titles have all come on hard courts, two in Melbourne and one in New York.
Alcaraz’s major titles have come on all the sport’s surfaces, suggesting a more complete game, but Sinner’s performance against Ben Shelton in the quarters and Djokovic in the semis, show just how suited his game is to grass.
His laser-like ground strokes, powerful serve and his ability to turn defence into attack in the blink of an eye were all on show and Alcaraz knows he faces a challenge every bit as tough as Roland Garros on Centre Court on Sunday.
The only other time they have met on grass was at Wimbledon in 2022 when Sinner won their last-16 clash in four sets.
“I expect that on Sunday, just to be on the limit, to be on the line,” the 22-year-old Alcaraz, who is on a 24-match winning streak, said. “I just hope not to be five hours and a half on court again. But if have to, I will.”
Should Alcaraz prevail he would join Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic as the only men to win the Wimbledon title three years in a row and he would also surpass Nadal’s two Wimbledon crowns.
Both players have shown vulnerability during the fortnight.
Alcaraz flirted with a shock first-round defeat against Italian Fabio Fognini, needing five sets. Sinner trailed by two sets against Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth-round after hurting his elbow, but was reprieved when the Bulgarian retired hurt.
Sinner, the third Italian to reach a Wimbledon singles final after Matteo Berrettini in 2021 and Jasmine Paolini last year, has looked unhindered by his elbow despite wearing a compression sleeve on his right arm in his last two matches.
“I think we are handling this small problem at the moment very well,” he said.
So the stage is set for a fitting end to a sun-filled Wimbledon fortnight and if Sunday’s duel is even remotely as compelling as the one in Paris, we are in for a treat.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
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