Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's private chat after Wimbledon final overheard

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner's Cincinnati Open conversation has shed some light on what the pair got up to after Wimbledon. The Italian World No.1 beat his Spanish counterpart 3-1 at the All England Club last month. Sinner made history in July when he became the first Italian singles title winner at SW19, bringing his Grand Slam tally to four at just 23.

This victory ended Alcaraz's hopes of making it a hat-trick in London, as he had won the past two renewals. With Wimbledon in the rearview mirror, the next major is fast approaching in the US Open, won by Sinner in 2024, and a string of hard-court tournaments stateside commence in the build-up. Both Sinner and Alcaraz will be seeded No.1 and No.2, respectively, for the Cincinnati Open, which gets underway on Thursday. And when hitting the practice courts on Tuesday, the pair caught up.

"What did you do after London?" Alcaraz asked Sinner with a smile. "Nothing crazy," replied the reigning Cincinnati Open champion, who, it is thought, enjoyed some time relaxing in northern Sardinia last month.

"And you?" quipped the Italian, with Alcaraz also downplaying his break by responding: "Nothing crazy. I spent two weeks at home and one week in southern Spain. It was nice.

"Three weeks of summer at home, you know, might sound boring. But I haven't seen all my friends, all my people, in at least a year. We did everything they wanted; I missed that."

It seems that while Alcaraz took some time to unwind after what was a toughly fought loss on Centre Court, Sinner followed suit. However, it does appear that the Italian's feat will be celebrated at some point. Italy's Minister of Sport, Andrea Abodi, admitted that festivities to commemorate Sinner's Wimbledon success will occur, but must allow for the player's jam-packed schedule.

"Every victory has been celebrated, so I'm sure there will be one," Abodi remarked on La Politica del Pallone podcast. "The issue is simply finding common ground between the institutional agenda and, above all, Jannik's sporting agenda, which is our priority. When he's ready, when he can, when he wants, we'll certainly all be here ready to welcome him."

As the No.1 seed, Sinner receives a bye in the first round of the Cincinnati Open and will begin his campaign on Saturday against a qualifier or Vit Kopriva.

To be the first to receive the latest tennis news, join our WhatsApp community or tennis newsletter

Sinner could then face No.30 seed Gabriel Diallo in the third round before potentially running into American Tommy Paul. Taylor Fritz is also in the top half of the draw as the No.4 seed, as is Frances Tiafoe, who was bested in last year's final by Sinner.

Alcaraz also received a bye as the second seed, and he'll play either Mattia Bellucci or Damir Dzumhur on Saturday. His third-round opponent could be No.26 seed Tallon Griekspoor. If he is to meet Sinner, it could only be in the final on August 18, though Alcaraz may have to best the likes of Alexander Zverev, Alex de Minaur and Ben Shelton to get there.