Can anybody stop Carlos Alcaraz from clinching a third Wimbledon title on the bounce?
After clinching his fifth Grand Slam title in Paris, the Spaniard once again heads into Wimbledon as the heavy favourite
Carlos Alcaraz, Queen’s 2025 – © Imago / Psnewz
Following his iconic Roland-Garros triumph, attention turns to whether Carlos Alcaraz can reign supreme at Wimbledon once more.
The Spaniard dug deep into his reserves to overcome Jannik Sinner at Roland-Garros, saving three match points along the way and his famed mental strength came to the fore in Paris.
For Alcaraz, the European clay court swing will be chalked off as another success, especially with his fifth Grand Slam title bagged in the French capital and he will be turning his attention to the campaign ahead.
Over the past couple of seasons, he has transitioned seamlessly onto the grass, with Wimbledon triumphs in 2023 and 2024 and he will be seeking a three-peat in 2025. Inevitably, with his superb record at SW19, Alcaraz will be amongst the front runners for men’s singles glory with most punters and UK tennis bookmakers on FIRST, but there will be plenty of big names vying for Wimbledon glory again this year.
High Five
The chasm between Sinner and Alcaraz at the top of the men’s game appears to be growing with each passing tournament, despite Sinner serving a three-month drugs ban.
Neither man was troubled en route to the Roland-Garros final last month and with Novak Djokovic seemingly in the twilight of his career, the pair look set to dominate for the foreseeable future.
Alcaraz prevailed in a final for the ages on Court Philippe-Chatrier, taking his record in Grand Slam finals to five played and five won.
The Spaniard was able to find his best tennis in the key moments against Sinner in the final, a loss which the Italian has said has given him sleepless nights since.
With former world number one Juan Carlos-Ferrero in his corner, Alcaraz’s mental strength appears to be giving him the edge in big matches, and he is yet to taste defeat in a Grand Slam final.
Out of the Sin-bin
The absence of Sinner for three months between the Australian and French Open had no difference on the Italian’s world ranking and he will be the top seed here at Wimbledon.
Wins at the 2024 US Open and 2025 Australian Open asserted Sinner as the best player on the planet, and he has looked fresh on his return to action on the ATP Tour.
There is a cloud surrounding his doping ban, with a few questions remaining unanswered and it will be interesting to see how he is received by the famously tricky paying public at Wimbledon.
That said, Sinner remains a big draw and having been bumped out in the semi-finals comfortably by Djokovic back in 2023, it will be fascinating to see how he fares on the grass in south-west London.
Chasing pack assembling
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Djokovic recently acknowledged that the quick grass courts at SW19 may give him his best chance of landing a Grand Slam moving forwards.
He has come up short against Alcaraz in the final of the last two men’s singles competitions and he will need to find a new level in 2025, if he is to overcome the Spaniard.
Elsewhere, Alexander Zverev continues to promise on the ATP Tour, without landing too many significant blows and grass has never been his favourite surface.
American Taylor Fritz endured a rough clay court season, bouncing back with a strong showing to win the Stuttgart Open last week – beating Zverev in the final – and he is a threat on grass.
Home favourite Jack Draper should be in the mix too, as should 2024 semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti, who enjoyed a stellar run to the last four at the Roland-Garros last time out.
However, Alcaraz still looks to be the man to beat on the famous grass and it will take something special to stop him from landing his third consecutive Wimbledon title in 2025.
