Jannik Sinner explains the difference between facing Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz after losing big leads to both

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Jannik Sinner had three championship points in the French Open final but couldn’t convert as he lost to Carlos Alcaraz.

The Italian star snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against Alcaraz in the French Open final, letting a mammoth lead slip.

After winning the first two sets, Sinner earned himself three championship points on the Spaniard’s serve, but failed to convert any of them, as Alcaraz mounted a comeback.

In a deciding match-tiebreaker, Alcaraz beat Sinner 10-2 to defend his Roland Garros title after five hours and 29 minutes of action.

During his post-match press conference, Sinner was asked to compare his defeat to Alcaraz to another Grand Slam loss where he led by two sets to love.

Jannik Sinner says he had ‘chances’ against Carlos Alcaraz but didn’t against Novak Djokovic in 2022

At Wimbledon in 2022, Sinner led Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-2, in their quarterfinal match.

Fighting back, the Serb took his game to another level, winning in five sets, 5-7, 2-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

Following his latest five-set Grand Slam defeat, Sinner was asked to compare his losses to Alcaraz and Djokovic.

“It was different. I was in a different moment of my career. It helped me very much to see how things can change quickly, but when Novak [Djokovic] raised that level that day, I felt that I had no chance. It was different,” he said.

“Today I had chances. I was a break up in the third, I was a break up in the fourth.

“I had three match points and was serving for the match.

“I came back, and at 6-5 I had chances also in the fifth. I had so many chances that I could not use and sometimes you have these days.

“You can’t really do anything now, so it was a different match.”

Sinner’s defeat to Alcaraz in the French Open final saw his record in matches lasting longer than three hours and 50 minutes fall to 0-7.

The Italian was asked for his thoughts on the record during his post-match press conference.

“You cannot compare this match with other matches, I believe,” he said.

“Physically, I was quite fine, of course I was tired but he was tired too. You could see. It was the most physical match and the most mental match, so what can you do?

“Now knowing the result, it is what it is; you can’t really change it.

“I am still happy to be part of this match. I think it was a very high-level match and it was long. It happens.

“We have seen it in the past with other players, and today it happened to me.

“We try to delete it somehow and take the positives and keep going. There are no other ways.”

Sinner will now regroup ahead of the beginning of the grass-court season, where he’ll look to pick up his maiden Wimbledon title.

Jannik Sinner’s record against Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic

The 23-year-old gave his verdict on two of his most devastating defeats against Alcaraz and Djokovic, but how does he fare in the head-to-heads?

When Sinner beat Djokovic in the semi-finals of the 2025 French Open, he edged ahead in their head-to-head 5-4.

Winning their last four matches, it certainly looks like the Italian has firm control of their rivalry.

The same cannot be said for his rivalry with Alcaraz, losing his fifth consecutive match against the Spaniard in the Roland Garros final.

Sinner seems to have the measure of everyone on the ATP Tour except for Alcaraz, who continues to trouble him.

Alcaraz now leads the head-to-head with Sinner 8-4, a record that will no doubt concern the world number one.

If Sinner wants to add to his tally of three Major titles, he’ll likely need to find a way to beat Alcaraz before too long, or results like Sunday’s may become a regular occurrence.

He’ll have his first chance at redemption when he travels to London for Wimbledon later this month, a tournament Alcaraz won in 2023 and 2024.

The 2025 Wimbledon tournament is scheduled to begin on Monday, June 30.