Alcaraz says Sinner rivalry is a class apart

LONDON :Carlos Alcaraz said he could hold his head high despite being unseated from his Wimbledon throne by Jannik Sinner on Sunday and the Spaniard praised their hot rivalry for being several notches higher than the others on the men's tour.

Alcaraz's bid for a third straight title at the All England Club ended with a 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 loss on Centre Court, leaving him to digest his first Grand Slam final defeat.

"It's always a bad feeling losing matches. It's a little bit worse when you lose in a final," said Alcaraz, who narrowly beat Sinner in a five-set humdinger at the French Open last month.

"I'm just proud about everything I've done in the last four weeks on grass at London. I leave Wimbledon, the court, with my head held really high because I did everything that I could.

"I played against someone who played an unbelievable game. So I'm just a little bit sad about losing, but with my head held really high."

Alcaraz said his rivalry with Sinner was great for the pair and also for tennis, which has had to endure the retirements of Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Andy Murray in recent years with fellow great Novak Djokovic in the twilight of a glorious career.

The young duo have now shared eight of the last nine Grand Slam titles, with each winning four.

"Every time we play each other, I think our level is really high. We don't see a level like this ... I don't see any player playing against each other, having the level that we're playing when we face each other," Alcaraz added.

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"This rivalry, it's becoming better and better ... we're playing in the finals of Grand Slams, finals of Masters and the best tournaments in the world. It's going to get better.

"I'm just really grateful for that because it gives me the