Carlos Alcaraz has surrendered his Wimbledon crown to his biggest rival, Jannik Sinner.
Despite battling across four sets, the Spaniard was unable to prevent a 6-4 4-6 4-6 4-6 loss to the Italian.
Sinner was simply more consistent and played better on the big points. Tennis is a game of fine margins, and Sinner most certainly won the battle of those margins on Sunday evening.
However, one particular area of Alcaraz’s game misfired during the contest, a factor one journalist has claimed the Spaniard ‘can’t rely on’ in the same way as Jannik Sinner.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty ImagesDavid Law says Carlos Alcaraz cannot rely on his serve like Jannik Sinner
David Law, a journalist who assists with the BBC’s coverage, was speaking about the final on The Tennis Podcast when the topic of Alcaraz’s first serve arose.
Law said: “You shouldn’t be having a drop-off in first serve percentage in the type of which Alcaraz had say, from the Wimbledon final a year ago.
“He should be getting over 60 per cent in and he’s getting around 50. It’s not going to get the job done against this guy. Not against an amazing returner like Sinner, who was going for it.
“What really struck me was, I kept referring to how Alcaraz in this position will go for it and actually Sinner was also going for it. I don’t think he was going to leave himself with any regrets.
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“And you’re absolutely right [Catherine Whitaker], he [Sinner] can rely on his serve, that’s the difference. Alcaraz can have incredible serving days, but he can’t rely on it in the same way.
“He doesn’t actually know what is going to happen from day to day, I don’t think in the same way [as Sinner].”
Carlos Alcaraz’s first serve struggles in the Wimbledon final
Carlos Alcaraz’s first serve left a lot to be desired in the Wimbledon final.
The world number two, who congratulated Sinner after the final on social media, made just 53 per cent of his first serves during the contest, giving Sinner ample opportunity to exploit the second serve and create break-point opportunities.
This was the lowest first serve percentage of any match Alcaraz played at Wimbledon. The closest he came to emulating this statistic was in the first and third rounds, where he averaged 58 per cent against Fabio Fognini and Jan-Lennard Struff respectively.
The Spaniard will have to improve this percentage if he hopes to win his second US Open crown in September.