Tennis legend Jimmy Connors was left stunned by what Carlos Alcaraz had to say about Jannik Sinner following their blockbuster Wimbledon final. On Sunday, Alcaraz surrendered his All England Club crown to the Italian, losing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in another high-quality showdown between the pair. The victory marked sweet revenge for Sinner, who had narrowly lost to Alcaraz in a thrilling five-set French Open final just a month earlier.
The rapidly growing rivalry between Alcaraz and Sinner is shaping up to be one for the ages – evoking memories of classic clashes like Federer vs Nadal, Borg vs Becker, or McEnroe vs Connors. But beneath the fiery competition lies a strong undercurrent of mutual admiration, as Alcaraz’s candid post-match remarks clearly showed. Not only did the 22-year-old Spaniard concede that Sinner had simply outplayed him throughout the tournament, he went a step further – publicly acknowledging that his 23-year-old counterpart may be the superior player in key areas of the game. “At some points I didn’t know what to do,” Alcaraz admitted to the Centre Court crowd. “From the baseline, I felt he was better than me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”
Connors – renowned for his fiery rivalry with fellow American legend John McEnroe – was taken aback by Alcaraz’s admission. He confessed that he could never have brought himself to say something so self-effacing, especially in the wake of a Grand Slam final defeat.
The former world No. 1 also advised Alcaraz to develop a reliable Plan B, warning that without one, he risks finding himself trapped in similarly unwinnable situations in the future.
“That is a tough thing to admit,” Connors, 72, said on his Advantage Connors podcast. “I don’t know if I would ever have admitted that. No matter what you have to get in there, mix up your game a bit, or try and do something a bit different.
“I know I say that a lot, but if your game number one is not winning you have to figure something else out. I got my ass handed to me a couple of times at Wimbledon too. Everybody does.”
Alcaraz’s defeat in Sunday’s final marked his first loss at Wimbledon since 2022, when – ironically – he was knocked out in the fourth round by none other than Sinner. It also ended a remarkable 24-match winning streak across all competitions.
Sinner and Alcaraz have now established themselves as the dominant forces in men’s tennis. Remarkably, they’ve only ever lost Grand Slam finals to each other, and together they’ve claimed the last seven majors – a streak dating back to Novak Djokovic‘s US Open victory in 2023.
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At their current pace, both men could realistically challenge Djokovic’s all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles by their early 30s. As it stands, Alcaraz holds five Slam titles, while Sinner sits just behind with four.
The pair are rapidly closing in on Jimmy Connors’ career total of eight. And like Connors, who lifted Wimbledon trophies in 1974 and 1982, they’re both now just one major away from completing the prestigious Career Grand Slam – a feat only five men have accomplished in the Open Era: Rod Laver, Andre Agassi, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
For now, Alcaraz is hoping to bounce back the way Sinner did after his Roland Garros final defeat, where, at one point, he led by two sets and wasted multiple Championship points. “Champions learn from their – I’m not going to say failures – but they learn from the losses,” the Spaniard said on Sunday.
“Last year in the Olympics I was really bad emotionally after the match [his defeat to Djokovic in the gold medal match]. It was really, really hard for me to accept that moment. I think in the last year I’ve been through enough different situations that I learned from them,” he said.
“I just accept everything that is coming to me in the way it comes. Like, OK, I just lost a final in a Grand Slam, but I’m just really proud about being in a final.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk