Alcaraz expects wiser Sinner in Wimbledon final after French Open epic

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LONDON - Carlos Alcaraz resumes his fast-growing Grand Slam rivalry with Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final but the second seed said on Friday that his epic win over the Italian in the French Open title clash last month did not give him the mental edge.

Defending champion Alcaraz quelled the challenge of American fifth seed Taylor Fritz 6-4 5-7 6-3 7-6(6) to secure his spot in a third consecutive title clash at the All England Club, before Sinner humbled seven-times winner Novak Djokovic 6-3 6-3 6-4.

Alcaraz saved three match points to beat Sinner in a shade under 5-1/2 hours at Roland Garros in one of the most memorable finals of all time, but the Spaniard expected his opponent to be a lot wiser after that heart-breaking defeat.

Whatever Jannik has, (it is) because he has learned from everything as a huge champion, from the losses, from the matches hes playing, he just gets better after every match, every day, Alcaraz told reporters.

Im pretty sure hes going to take a lot of things from the French Open final, hes going to be better physically, be better mentally. Hes going to be prepared on Sunday to give 100%.

Im not thinking I have an advantage mentally on Sunday because of that match.

Alcaraz, who will be eyeing his third successive title at Wimbledon to match the feat of Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic, said he had not revisited his big battle with Sinner on the red dirt of Paris.

But I still think about that moment, sometimes. Yeah, it was probably the best... I mean, not probably no, it was the best match