Wimbledon were forced to delay the start time of the men’s singles final on Sunday by 10 minutes due to a lengthy women’s doubles final on Centre Court.
In a year where Wimbledon have moved the singles start times from 2pm to 4pm, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were left waiting for the three-set doubles final – which started at 1pm – to conclude.
It finished just before 3:30pm (BST), but after the presentation ceremony, the referee’s office confirmed that the men’s singles final would start at the slightly later time of 4:10pm.
Alcaraz and Sinner, the top two players in the world, are facing each other again just five weeks on from their incredible final at the French Open, which lasted five-and-a-half hours.
Sinner, who recovered from the loss by going home to northern Italy and sharing BBQs and table tennis with his friends and family, said with a smile: “I think if it would be a lot in my head, I would not be in the situation to play a final again.
“I’m very happy to share once again the court with Carlos. It’s going to be difficult, I know that. But I’m looking forward to it.”
Sinner comprehensively defeated a physically compromised Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals after two-time defending champion Alcaraz had got the better of Taylor Fritz to ensure one of the pair will win a seventh straight grand slam title.
It is the kind of dominance the big three of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal achieved in their prime, but Sinner shrugged off comparisons.
“You cannot compare what the big three did for 15-plus years,” said the 23-year-old, who is through to a fourth straight slam final and can become the first Italian man or woman to win a Wimbledon singles title.
“Six grand slams are one-and-a-half years. It’s not that big yet. Of course, we find ourselves again in this position. This is the second consecutive grand slam that we are in the final and playing each other, which is great from my side. I believe it’s good for the sport.
“The more rivalries we have from now on, the better it is, because people want to see young players going against each other. I’m happy to be in that position, but let’s see in the future. If we can make that happen for the next three, four years, then people can think about it.”
Sinner and Alcaraz have shared those six titles but the Spaniard holds the psychological edge having won not just at Roland Garros but their last five matches.
Of the nine losses world number one Sinner has had since the start of 2024, more than half have been against Alcaraz.
Meanwhile, in the doubles final, eighth seeds Veronika Kudermetova and Elise Mertens beat fourth seeds Hsieh Su-wei and Jelena Ostapenko 3-6, 6-2, 6-4.
