'I am going with a fellow ginger': Former world number one bets on Jannik Sinner to stun Carlos Alcaraz in Wimbledon final

Former world number one Jim Courier has shared an interesting reason behind picking Jannik Sinner to lift the Wimbledon title. The 23-year-old will feature in his first-ever final at the All England Lawn Tennis Club on Sunday against the two-time champion, Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner cemented his spot in the final of the third Grand Slam of the year after beating former world number one Novak Djokovic in the semifinal in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3, 6-4. On the other hand, Alcaraz secured his spot in the last two after beating America’s Taylor Fritz with a score of 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6. This will be the 13th meeting between the two players in professional tennis.

In the previous 12 meetings, Alcaraz had a clear advantage as he won on eight occasions and had defeated Sinner in the last five meetings. Their most recent meeting was in the final of the French Open, where Alcaraz came out on top in a five-set thriller with a score of 4-6, 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 7-6. While doing that, Alcaraz saved three championship points and eventually came out on top in a match that lasted more than five hours and became officially the second-longest final in Grand Slam history in the Open era.

Despite all of that, former world number one Courier has picked Sinner as the favourite to win the Wimbledon title on Sunday. The 54-year-old, while speaking on The Tennis Channel, believes that the pace of the surface will help Sinner get the better of Alcaraz. Courier was of the opinion that the pace of the surface will ‘neutralise’ Alcaraz’s options, which will be enough for Sinner to lift his fourth Grand Slam title eventually.

“I am going with a fellow ginger. I am taking Jannik Sinner in this one,” said Courier. “I think the speedy court is going to help him, little bit more than its going to help Alcaraz. I think it will be able to neutralise some of the options that Carlos brings to the table. So I am picking Sinner.”