World No. 1 Jannik Sinner has won his first Wimbledon title and the first Wimbledon title for Italy, defeating No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the gentlemen's final. Alcaraz came in as the two-time defending champion while also having defeated Sinner in an epic five set thriller to win the French Open just a few weeks earlier. Sinner could have let that French Open result get in his head, but instead he went to work and got some revenge. Sinner now has won four grand slam titles and only needs to win the French Open to complete the career slam. Given how close he came at the French Open this year, one has to think he'll soon complete the career slam.
Looking back on his run to the title, Sinner played great throughout the entire tournament. He did however catch a lucky break in the 4th round in which he won 3-6, 5-7, 2-2, ret. against Grigor Dimitrov. Dimitrov had to retire from the match due to a pectoral muscle injury. Had he not gone down with that injury, one can't help but wonder if the outcome of the entire tournament would have been different. Coming down from 0-2 would have been tough for Sinner and even if he had pulled it out, he would have been more worn down coming into the final.
That said, all you can do is control what you can control and take advantage of any breaks that you do get. Sinner got a major break against Dimitrov, but he took full advantage by going all the way. He deserves a lot of credit for regrouping after that match and finding it in him to come out on top in the end.
At just 23 years of age, Sinner has rapidly ascended to the top spot in the world and is playing like a guy who isn't going anywhere anytime soon. In truth, the only guy who really seems to challenge him for the number one spot is Alcaraz. The two of them are forming quite the rivalry and are gaining separation from the rest of the ATP Tour. It'll be interesting to see if anyone else can emerge to challenge them. World No.3 Alexander Zverev is yet to win a grand slam and he's few years older than both guys.
Looking ahead to the US Open, Sinner will look to defend his title there. He'll be coming in with a lot of momentum and confidence. Provided he has a good lead up to the US Open on the hardcourt, I see no reason to pick against him. Even with Alcaraz the favorite to be facing him in the final.
ATPGuy.com on Facebook: @ATPGuyNation
ATPGuy.com on X (Twitter): @atp_guy
ATPGuy.com on Bluesky: atpguydotcom.bsky.social
Ben Parker on Facebook, IG, Threads, X (Twitter), YouTube, & Bluesky: @slamdunk406
No comments:
Post a Comment