'Final was kind of a dud': Pressure got to Sinner and Alcaraz to deliver in Wimbledon final says Andrea Petkovic

Former German tennis player Andrea Petkovic has highlighted one particular reason which made Italy’s Jannik Sinner superior at the Wimbledon final. The 23-year-old defeated the two champion Carlos Alcaraz in the final of the third Grand Slam of the year with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday.

It was the second consecutive Grand Slam final where both Alcaraz and Sinner faced each other. The win was an important one for Sinner, as he managed to overcome the heartbreak of his French Open final defeat against the same opponent, where he had failed to capitalise on three championship points. In that contest, Alcaraz came out on top in a five-set thriller with a score of 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. The match lasted more than five hours and officially became the second-longest final in the history of Grand Slams in the Open era.

Former world number one Petkovic, in a post on her Substack, shared her thoughts on the highly anticipated final. Petkovic stated that the final did not live up to expectations after a memorable contest between the same players a month earlier at Roland Garros. Petkovic also highlighted that both players were nervous after what happened at French Open and Sinner came out on top because he was the first to ‘shook it off’.

“It was the match everyone hoped they’d get,” wrote Petkovic. “It was the match nobody dared to wish for. And yet, there it was, right in front of our eyes and it was kind of a dud. At least for a set and half it was before Jannik found his form. This sounds ludicrous to say about two of the best players on the planet right now but they seemed to be tight. Nerves got to them. The pressure of repeating the drama of the French Open final was too much to bear. Jannik was the first who shook it off. His serve got better, his movement smoother. Carlos, on the other hand, never quite got rid of the tension."