LONDON (AP) Jannik Sinner needed this victory.

He wanted to win Wimbledon , of course, and it would have meant a lot to him no matter who the opponent was in the final.

That this championship, his fourth at a Grand Slam tournament, came via a win over Carlos Alcaraz made it all the more significant to Sinner and to the future of their burgeoning rivalry, the best mens tennis has to offer these days and, perhaps, for many years to come.

It is important, for sure, the No. 1-ranked Sinner said Sunday night after prevailing 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 against No. 2 Alcaraz , because when you lose several times against someone, its not easy.

Sinner had lost five matches in a row against Alcaraz, none more disheartening than the one they played last month in the French Open final . Sinner grabbed a two-set lead in that one, then held a trio of championship points, before losing in five sets after 5 hours, 29 minutes.

I keep looking up to Carlos, because even today, I felt like he was doing couple of things better than I did, Sinner said. So thats something ... we will work on and prepare ourselves, because hes going to come for us again.

Perhaps as soon as at the U.S. Open, which starts in New York on Aug. 24 and where Sinner is the defending champion . They will be seeded No. 1 and No. 2 again, so could only meet there in another final.

Alcaraz won the trophy at Flushing Meadows in 2022, beginning a stretch in which he and Sinner have combined to win nine of the past 12 majors. That includes the last seven, leaving zero doubt that these two young guys Sinner is 23, Alcaraz is 22 have pushed themselves way past everyone else in the game at the moment.

Im just really, really happy about having this rivalry with him. Its great for us, and it is great for tennis. Every time we play against each other, our level is really high, Alcaraz said. We dont (see) a level like this, if Im honest with you. I dont see any (other players) playing against each other (and) having the level that we are playing when we face each other.

Both serve well, although Sinner was better at that Sunday. Both return well, although, again, Sinner was superior over these particular three hours. Both cover the court exceedingly well Alcaraz is faster; Sinner has a bigger reach and is a better slider. Both hit the ball so, so hard Alcaraz is more prone to the spectacular; Sinner is as pure and consistent a ball-striker as there is.

And so on.

One other contrast, usually, is that Alcaraz shows emotion, whether via yells of Vamos! or the sort of point-to-his-ear-then-pump-his-fist celebration he did after winning Sundays opening set by stretching and reaching low for a cross-court backhand to close a 12-stroke point.

Sinner is far more contained. Even his arm-raised victory poses are mild-mannered.

Sunday, though, there were more visible displays. He even shouted Lets go! after one point. Later, he shook his racket overhead while the crowd roared after a well-struck backhand. When he took a set with a forehand winner, Sinner held a pose, then lifted a fist.

When the match was over, he crouched, lowered his head and pounded his right palm on the grass five times.

You saw a bit more energy from him in the big moments, said one of Sinners coaches, Darren Cahill , and a bit more focus to knuckle down and make sure that, when he had his nose in front, that he kept on closing the door against Carlos.

Both players spoke about their matchup motivating them to work hard to try to improve.

It gives me the opportunity to just give my 100% every practice, every day. Just to be better, thanks to that, said Alcaraz, who won the past two Wimbledon titles and was 5-0 in Grand Slam finals before Sunday. The level that I have to maintain, and I have to raise, if I want to beat Jannik is really high.

Sinner described Alcaraz as someone who is young, who wins basically everything.

You have to be ready, Sinner explained, if you want to keep up.

___

Howard Fendrich has been the APs tennis writer since 2002. Find his stories here: . More AP tennis:

伦敦（美联社）——扬尼克·辛纳需要这场胜利。

他当然渴望赢得温网冠军，无论决赛对手是谁，这对他而言都意义重大。

这场胜利对辛纳而言意义非凡——他不仅在大满贯赛事中第四次夺冠，更因击败卡洛斯·阿尔卡拉斯而彰显价值。这场新生代巅峰对决代表着当今男子网坛的最高水准，或许也将成为未来多年最值得期待的较量。

“这当然很重要，”世界排名第一的辛纳在周日晚上以4-6、6-4、6-4、6-4击败排名第二的阿尔卡拉斯后表示，“因为当你多次输给同一个人时，这种感觉并不好受。”

辛纳此前已连续五次败给阿尔卡拉斯，而上个月法网决赛的失利最令人沮丧。当时辛纳先赢两盘，并手握三个冠军点，却在鏖战5小时29分钟后以五盘告负。

辛纳表示："我始终仰视卡洛斯，因为即便在今天，我仍感觉他在某些方面做得比我更好。这正是我们需要努力改进并做好准备的地方，因为他必将再次向我们发起挑战。"

或许最早在8月24日纽约开赛的美网公开赛上就能见到这一幕——辛纳将以卫冕冠军身份出战。两人将再次位列头两号种子选手，因此唯有在决赛中才能相遇。

阿尔卡拉斯于2022年在法拉盛公园夺冠，由此开启了一段他与辛纳联手包揽过去12项大满贯赛事中9冠的辉煌时期。这其中包括最近的七连冠，毫无疑问，这两位年轻人——23岁的辛纳与22岁的阿尔卡拉斯——已将其他选手远远甩在身后，成为当今网坛的绝对主宰。

阿尔卡拉斯表示："能与他在赛场上一较高下，我感到无比欣喜。这种竞争对我们双方都大有裨益，对网球运动本身也是极好的。每次交手时，我们的竞技水准都保持在极高层面。说实话，我从未见过如此高水平的对决。在我看来，其他选手之间的较量都难以企及我们交锋时的竞技高度。"

两人发球都相当出色，不过辛纳在那个周日的表现更胜一筹。接发球方面同样如此，在这特定的三个小时里，辛纳再度占据上风。他们的球场覆盖能力都极为出色——阿尔卡拉斯速度更快，辛纳则臂展更长且滑步技术更佳。两人的击球力道都极其凶猛——阿尔卡拉斯更倾向于打出炫目击球，而辛纳的击球则堪称教科书级别，稳定性无出其右。

诸如此类。

另一个常见的对比是，阿尔卡拉斯总是情绪外露——无论是高喊“加油！”，还是在周日首盘获胜后做出侧耳倾听然后挥拳庆祝的动作。当时他通过一记伸展身体、低位接球的斜线反拍制胜分，终结了这个长达12拍的回合。

辛纳则更为内敛，就连他举臂庆祝胜利的姿势也显得温和有礼。

然而在周日，他的情绪表达更为外放。拿下一分后，他甚至高喊“加油！”。随后，当他一记漂亮的反手击球引得观众欢呼时，他将球拍高举过头晃动。当以一记正手制胜分拿下一盘后，辛纳定格了一个庆祝姿势，随后握拳振臂。

比赛结束后，他蹲下身，低下头，用右手在草地上重重拍了五下。

辛纳的教练之一达伦·卡希尔表示："你能看到他在关键时刻更有活力，也更加专注地全力以赴，确保当他取得领先时，能持续压制卡洛斯，不给对手翻盘的机会。"

两位选手都表示，彼此的对决激励着他们努力训练、追求进步。

阿尔卡拉斯表示："这让我有机会在每次训练、每一天都全力以赴。正因为如此，我才能不断进步。"这位连续两届温网冠军得主在周日前保持着大满贯决赛5胜0负的完美战绩。他补充道："若想击败辛纳，我必须保持并提升的状态水平确实非常高。"

辛纳将阿尔卡拉斯描述为“一个年轻且几乎赢得一切的选手”。

辛纳解释道：“你必须做好准备，才能跟上节奏。”

霍华德·芬德里希自2002年起担任美联社专职网球记者。他的报道可在此处查阅： 。更多美联社网球资讯请访问：