Roger Federer’s Ex-Coach Shares What Jannik Sinner Must Do if He Faces Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon Final

Jannik Sinner has never reached the Wimbledon final but Carlos Alcaraz has captured two titles here on the trot.

Roger Federer’s Ex-Coach Shares What Jannik Sinner Must Do if He Faces Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon Final

Carlos Alcaraz, Jannik Sinner (Image via X/We Are Tennis France, Jannik Sinner HQ)

What Jannik Sinner must do to beat Carlos Alcaraz? Since last year, Sinner has lost all the matches he played against the Spaniard.

Last year, Sinner lost just six matches, three of which came against his arch-rival. This season, they met twice: in the finals of the Italian Open and the French Open, the results of which did not end in Sinner’s favor.

In the French Open, Sinner came close to lifting his fourth Grand Slam title as he took a 2-0 lead and also had three championship points in the fourth set. But Alcaraz eventually eked out a five-set win in more than five hours to defend his title.

Roger Federer‘s former coach Ivan Ljubicic, during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, said the timing of Sinner’s heartbreaking defeat was “perfect”. He also shared what he thinks the Italian must do to beat the five-time Grand Slam champion if they meet in the Wimbledon final.

He [Sinner] has to make him defend, put him under pressure. There’s no need to let Alcaraz get too excited because he’s shown that, when he takes control of the game, he does what he wants. He can be unplayable. On grass, on the one hand, it’s a little easier because he doesn’t control all the points, on the other hand, it’s also a surface that brings out his creative qualities.

Sinner now trails 4-8 in the head-to-head matchups with Alcaraz. In Paris, they met for the first time in a Grand Slam final.

After the French Open, Sinner and Alcaraz played at the Halle Open and the Queen’s Club Championships, respectively. While Sinner failed to defend his title, Alcaraz ended the ATP 500 event in London in his favor by beating Jiri Lehecka, winning his second title in the tournament and his fourth one on grass.

Jack Draper shares if he can beat Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz on grass

Jack Draper will be chasing his second grass-court title at Wimbledon following his victory at the 2023 Stuttgart Open. He, like Carlos Alcaraz, played at the Queen’s but Jiri Lehecka ended his run in the semifinal.

Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz
Jannik Sinner, Jack Draper, Carlos Alcaraz (Image via X/Australian Open, BNP Paribas Open, TNT Sports)

He also played an exhibition match at Hurlingham where he defeated Holger Rune. Following his match, he told Tennis365 whether he thinks the grass is the surface where he can dominate Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.

I mean, yeah, I think grass is a surface that really suits my game. I think people had this stigma that, because I’m a British tennis player, then I must be unbelievable on grass. I never play on grass, it’s difficult, but I’ve had wins against them on this surface and I feel confident. It suits my weapons.

Alcaraz has met Draper six times, winning four of these matches. Thrice they squared off against each other this year. Draper, en route to his Indian Wells triumph, knocked out Alcaraz in the semifinals. They last met in the Italian Open quarterfinal.

Against his good friend Sinner, Draper holds a 1-1 head-to-head record. They last faced each other in the semifinal of the 2024 US Open, which Sinner won before beating Taylor Fritz in the final to lift his second Major.

At Wimbledon, the three-time Grand Slam champion has never progressed to the final. It’s the only Major where he has not yet played the final. His best result came in 2023 when he reached the semifinal, losing the match in straight sets to 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic.

Last year, he lost in the quarterfinals. Alcaraz will be entering Wimbledon as the two-time defending champion (beat Djokovic in the previous two finals). The Brit has never progressed beyond the second round of the grass-court Major.

Also read: Taylor Fritz Opens Up About His Strict Upbringing and How He’s Breaking the Cycle With His Son