Engulfed by the experience of unfamiliar defeat, Carlos Alcaraz did what Carlos Alcaraz does. Two hours after losing to Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon 2025, he expressed gratitude. He found the joy in a joyless situation.

“It’s always a bad feeling losing matches – a little bit worse, even, when you lose in the final,” he said. “But overall I’m really proud of what I’ve done in the last four weeks on grass.

“I did everything I could today, I just faced someone who played an unbelievable game. I’ll leave Wimbledon with my head held really high.

“Right now I’m not [feeling] bad at all. I’m just happy. I’m smiling, because in my head it was about playing in the final and being grateful for that.”

It was a remarkable declaration. After all, never before had the Spaniard lost a Grand Slam final in his five previous such contests. He had not lost to Sinner since October 2023.

He had not lost in his previous 24 matches, going back to April. He had not lost to anyone at Wimbledon since 2022 – chap by the name of Jannik Sinner took the win back then, since you ask. Curious sometimes, how the world turns.

But in 2022, that defeat came in the fourth round. This time it was in the final, and it denied Alcaraz the three-peat of titles he wanted.

Thirty-five days after the Spaniard’s epic triumph from three Championship points down at Roland-Garros, Sinner reversed the competitive tide and wrote history in the process. He is the first Italian, man or woman, ever to win a Wimbledon singles title.

“He didn’t surprise me at all, that he was able to get over that so quickly and win here,” said Alcaraz. “Champions learn from… I’m not going to say their failures, but they learn from their losses.

“I knew he was going to learn from that final, not make the same mistakes. The way he played today was really high, and he knew he was going to play like this. I know he’s a really nice player and a huge champion.”

The last time Alcaraz lost a major final, perhaps unexpectedly, was at the Olympics last year. The Spaniard dominated Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon Championship match, yet three weeks later lost in straight sets to him in the Paris Games – and it took him a long while to recover.

“This is a different feeling,” said Alcaraz. “Last year at the Olympics I was really bad emotionally after the match. It was really, really hard for me to accept that moment.

“Now I just accept everything that is coming to me. OK, I just lost a Grand Slam final but I am really proud about being in a final, forget that I lost it. I just want to keep the good moments and trying to forget the bad moments.

“In this match he was pushing me to the limit in every point. At some points I didn’t know what to do. From the baseline he was better than me, and I couldn’t do anything about it.”

But he plans to next time. He plans to become a still better player, and to use his rivalry with Sinner as motivational fuel. The uniquely Carlitos element is that this motivational fuel is not about gaining vengeance, but about embracing his rivalry with Sinner as a joyful gift.

“I am really happy about having this rivalry with him,” said Alcaraz. “It's great for us, and it’s great for tennis. Every time we play against each other, I think our level is really high. I don’t see any other players having the level we do when we face each other.

“My rivalry with him gives me the chance to practise every day to be better. I’m grateful for it.”