Wimbledon’s 138th gentlemen’s singles final is the duel that not just tennis but the entire sporting world has been yearning to see.
It’s just five weeks since the victorious Carlos Alcaraz and ultimately crestfallen Jannik Sinner delivered what many good judges feel is the most fabulous men’s Grand Slam final ever played at Roland-Garros. It left the sport thirsting for, nay demanding, an instant sequel.
So, is it too greedy to ask for this pair to deliver something quite as preposterously,
mind-bogglingly brilliant again today? Sinner grins surely it’s not possible, but
these young titans are making us believe anything’s feasible.
While sampling the delights of a Wimbledon pub lunch after an early Roland-Garros exit, Australian star Alex de Minaur found himself – like the rest of the diners – unable to look away as this five-and-a-half-hour epic unfolded.
“The new benchmark for all of us,” he told himself.
Meanwhile, back in Paris, luminaries shook their heads. “I thought, ‘This is not possible – they’re playing at a pace that’s not human’,” reflected Mats Wilander.
Which is why it had to be these two again on Centre Court. The pair who’ve won the
last six Grand Slams between them. The two-time defending champion Alcaraz and the
world No.1 Sinner; Spanish fire and Italian mountain ice, the genius versus the machine.
Take your pick.
It feels as if it will be a rivalry to match any of the most celebrated from Roger/Rafa/Novak to McEnroe/Borg, and certainly it’s built on that model of genuine admiration and respect.
Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill smiles: “They aren’t going out to dinner together, but they are mates. They’re in the locker room, they’re talking about what 23-year-olds talk about, but they have fun, they enjoy each other’s company.”
Just for the moment, though, it’s definitely Alcaraz who enjoys the edge. Even Sinner
admits his rival starts as favourite.
Alcaraz leads the head-to-head 8-4, including the last five. Famously, no-one beats Carlitos in Grand Slam finals too; it’s five wins, no defeats. Yet Sinner will even now be shaking his head about that Roland-Garros epic. How did he lose?
Alcaraz seems to have forgotten how to lose after 24 successive match wins and 20 at Wimbledon. He can join Borg, Sampras, Federer and Djokovic as the only men in the Open era to win three straight Wimbledon singles titles and just the second after Borg to achieve the Roland Garros-Wimbledon ‘Channel double’ in consecutive years.
Yet forget all the stats; just enjoy the man and his joyous exploration of his own
imagination, of what’s possible in his bewildering armoury of shot-making.
Andre Agassi was so gleeful watching Alcaraz bamboozle Taylor Fritz with one glorious, cushioned volley that he exclaimed from the commentary box: “He could have hit that volley, jumped over the net, and got it back himself … that’s what you feel when you watch him.
“It’s like he has the touch of Federer, the defence of Novak, and the RPMs of Nadal all combined in one person. No wonder he can afford to be erratic at times.”
Sinner doesn’t do erratic. Even when he fell behind to the inspirational and eventually
luckless Grigor Dimitrov, it felt as if his lapse was down to his elbow injury, rather
than an off-night.
When he’s been on this Fortnight, he’s been unstoppable. He seems a mild-mannered soul but the way he dismantled an admittedly ailing Novak Djokovic was an exercise in unsentimental efficiency.
Because it’s their time now. “I believe it’s good for the sport,” says Sinner in his typically understated fashion. For all of us beholders, it’s simply great.
First up on Centre, though, we have the ladies’ doubles final, with Su-Wei Hsieh and Jelena Ostapenko taking on Elise Mertens and Veronika Kudermetova in what is sure to be an enthralling curtain-raiser.
Just as in the gentlemen’s singles, it’s world No.1 vs world No.2 in the gentlemen’s Wheelchair singles final as Japan’s Tokito Oda takes on defending champion Alfie Hewett in a mouthwatering encounter.
Elsewhere, the Colombian/French pairing of Angelica Bernal and Ksenia Chasteau will
take on China’s Xiaohui Li and Ziying Wang in the ladies’ Wheelchair doubles final.
And on this final Sunday, it’s a delight to welcome Temi Johnson, who will perform the coin toss for the gentlemen’s Wheelchair singles final, representing Disability Sports Coach, a charity helping those with disabilities to take part in sport.
So too Ambrose Caldecott, who will undertake the same duties for the gentlemen's singles final as a representative for The Junction Elite Project, a local charity providing developmental sporting experiences to young people. It’s sure to be a day they – and we – will never forget.