The rivalry between Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz took a turn in the Wimbledon final.
Sinner was left heartbroken by Alcaraz at Roland Garros, having three championship points go amiss.
However, in order to enact his revenge, Sinner had to learn from his defeat to Alcaraz to help him win Wimbledon.
Alcaraz is one of the most popular players on the ATP Tour, but a former top 10 player has now explained why she wanted Sinner to beat him.
Andrea Petkovic explains why she really wanted Jannik Sinner to beat Carlos Alcaraz
Alcaraz’s victory at Roland Garros was his fifth consecutive win over Sinner, something that former world number nine Andrea Petkovic touched on in her Substack review of Wimbledon this year.
Petkovic suggested that she wanted Sinner to beat Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final, because she feared that rivalry would become too one-sided.
Although she got what she wanted from the final result, after the match Petkovic admitted that her perspective may have changed.
“The hardest part about this Sinncaraz rivalry is how loveable both of these young men are,” said Petkovic. “While outwardly different, an extrovert and an introvert, the creative and the machine, at core Jannik and Carlos are humble people who love their families and surround themselves with the best(-smelling) people they can find. And that’s that.
“I was rooting for Jannik this time because I was worried that if Carlos won again, the rivalry would’ve become a ‘rivalry’. I was rooting for tennis.
“But after the match had finished, the champagne corks had been collected and the glasses emptied, after the dances had been danced and hugs had been hugged, I realised as long as we have both of them around, tennis always wins.”
Jannik Sinner vs Carlos Alcaraz Head-to-head
After beating his rival in the Wimbledon final, Sinner has now closed the head-to-head between him and Alcaraz.
Alcaraz still leads the head-to-head 8-5, having won five of their last six meetings.
What is particularly noticeable is that their last four consecutive meetings have all come in finals, with the last two in the championship matches at Grand Slams.
| Year | Tournament | Result |
| 2021 | Paris Masters (R32) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 7-6(1) 7-5 |
| 2022 | Wimbledon (R16) | Sinner beat Alcaraz, 6-1 6-4 6(8)-7 6-3 |
| 2022 | Croatia Open (F) | Sinner beat Alcaraz, 6(5)-7 6-1 6-1 |
| 2022 | US Open (QF) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 6-3 6(7)-7 6(0)-7 7-5 6-3 |
| 2023 | Indian Wells (SF) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 7-6(4) 6-3 |
| 2023 | Miami Open (SF) | Sinner beat Alcaraz, 6(4)-7 6-4 6-2 |
| 2023 | China Open (SF) | Sinner beat Alcaraz, 7-6(4) 6-1 |
| 2024 | Indian Wells (SF) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 1-6 6-3 6-2 |
| 2024 | Roland Garros (SF) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 2-6 6-3 3-6 6-4 6-3 |
| 2024 | China Open (F) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 6(6)-7 6-4 7-6(3) |
| 2025 | Italian Open (F) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 7-6(5) 6-1 |
| 2025 | Roland Garros (F) | Alcaraz beat Sinner, 4-6 6(4)-7 6-4 7-6(3) 7-6(2) |
| 2025 | Wimbledon (F) | Sinner beat Alcaraz, 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 |
Alcaraz leads the head-to-head on both hard and clay courts, while Sinner is unbeaten in their rivalry on grass after two wins at Wimbledon.
The next time they can play one another is at the Canadian Open, the Masters 1000 tournament where both players are still entered.
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