The men’s Wimbledon final is set and will feature a much-anticipated Roland Garros rematch between world number one Jannik Sinner and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
Sinner defeated Novak Djokovic to book his place in the championship match at the All England Club for the first time in his career, dominating the Serb in straight sets.
Alcaraz, on the other hand, returned to the Wimbledon final for the third year in a row after overcoming Taylor Fritz in four sets.
It will be the second Grand Slam final between the top two-ranked ATP stars, following their five-set thriller in Paris.
Both Alcaraz and Sinner have shown they are a level above the rest of the field in SW19 this year, but Fritz, following his loss to the Spaniard, thinks one of them is slightly tougher to play against than the other.
Photo by GLYN KIRK/AFP via Getty ImagesTaylor Fritz compares Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner ahead of the Wimbledon final
In his post-match press conference, Fritz said: “I would say for me, it’s just different. It is different conditions. I felt pretty comfortable from the ground with Jannik when we played in Turin.
“I think Jannik typically has a bigger serve, so it is tougher to get in on his return games, but for me, from the ground, I think I had more success rallying and playing with Jannik because he plays a bit flatter and it’s a little bit more predictable.
“He is unbelievable at what he does, playing from the baseline. I think Carlos is a little bit more unpredictable with the slicing and coming to the net and the drop shots.
“Carlos has a lot of different ways to play, and I also think that Carlos, one thing that he does, is that when he whips his forehand cross, there is a lot of movement away, which is difficult.
“Jannik is more through the court, which, for some people, it just depends on who you are playing, but for me personally, I would probably rather deal with the flat one rather than the one which is working away from me.
“But they both generate a lot of raw power, but I think for me it is a little bit more uncomfortable playing against Carlos because of the unpredictability of what he is going to do.
“I think I play a lot off anticipation, and it’s a little bit like you never know, Carlos might just hit a short kicker and serve and volley at 15-30 or something like that, which I feel like if I am playing Jannik, that is probably not going to happen.”
Jannik Sinner’s head-to-head record against Carlos Alcaraz
Sinner and Alcaraz have played each other 12 times at tour-level events, with their first bout coming in 2021 at the Paris Masters 1000 event.
The world number two leads the head-to-head 8-4, and has emerged victorious in each of their last five meetings.
Jannik Sinner’s results against Carlos Alcaraz at Grand Slam events
At Grand Slam events, Alcaraz leads 3-1, suffering defeat just once over five sets to Sinner, which came in the fourth round at Wimbledon in 2022.
In their only match on grass, the Italian defeated his rival in four sets, which he will hope to emulate this Sunday.