Carlos Alcaraz will face Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon in a rematch of the French Open final

LONDON (AP) — First, Carlos Alcaraz did his part to set up The Grand Slam Rematch The Tennis World Wanted, barely averting a fifth set and getting past Taylor Fritz 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the semifinals Friday to move within a victory of a third consecutive Wimbledon championship.

Then it was Jannik Sinner's turn keep up his end of the bargain, and he overwhelmed a not-fully-fit Novak Djokovic 6-3, 6-3, 6-4 to get to the final at the All England Club for the first time.

So get ready for Sunday: No. 1 Sinner vs. No. 2 Alcaraz for the title on the grass courts of Wimbledon, exactly five weeks after their riveting and remarkable final on the red clay of the French Open.

Sinner grabbed a two-set lead in that one, then held a trio of match points, before Alcaraz came all the way back to win after 5 hours, 29 minutes filled with brilliance from both.

Asked to reflect on what happened in Paris, Alcaraz began by saying, “Probably the best,” then cut himself off.

“I mean, ‘probably,’ no. It was the best match that I have ever played so far. I’m not surprised he just pushed me to the limit. I expect that on Sunday — just to be in the limit, to be on the line. Just going to be a great day, a great final. I’m just excited about it,” Alcaraz said, speaking for anybody who might have paid any attention to that classic at Roland-Garros.

“I just hope not to be 5 1/2 hours on court again,” he added with a smile. “If I have to, I will. But I think it’s going to be great.”

Who wouldn't expect this one to be?

“Hopefully it’s going to be a good match, like the last one,” Sinner said. “I don’t know if it’ll get better, because I don’t think it’s possible.”

Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, and Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, are far and away the leaders of men’s tennis — and are at the height of their powers right now. This will be the seventh straight major tournament won by one or the other.

Alcaraz is 5-0 in Grand Slam finals. Sinner owns three major trophies.

“The things we are doing right now are great for tennis,” Alcaraz said.

He takes a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday. Sinner will be in his fourth Grand Slam final in a row, after winning the U.S. Open last September and the Australian Open in January.

Alcaraz leads their head-to-head matchup 8-4, taking the last five.

He doesn't think what happened in their most recent meeting will have a carryover effect on Sinner this time.

“He’s going to be better physically. He’s going to be better mentally. He’s going to be prepared on Sunday to give his 100%,” said Alcaraz, who trailed the fifth-seeded Fritz 6-4 in the fourth-set tiebreaker before winning the next four points to end it.

Sinner and Alcaraz have taken over the sport as the so-called Big Three of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal ceded center stage.

Federer and Nadal are retired. For the 38-year-old Djokovic, who was diminished two days after a “nasty” and “awkward” fall in the last game of his quarterfinal victory, his lopsided loss brought an end to his latest bid for an eighth Wimbledon title and an unprecedented 25th major trophy.

Djokovic said he definitely plans to come back for at least one more appearance at Wimbledon. He had reached the last six finals, winning four and finishing as the runner-up to Alcaraz in 2023 and 2024.

With five-time Wimbledon champion Bjorn Borg and celebrities such as Anna Wintour and Leonardo DiCaprio looking on Friday, Alcaraz produced his usual brand of magic, marking some shots against U.S. Open runner-up Fritz with a shout of “Vamos!” or a raised index finger.

The temperature topped 85 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius), with no clouds interrupting the blue sky overhead to offer protection from the sun. For the second consecutive day, spectators had trouble in the heat.

The pop of a Champagne cork could be heard in the stands just before the start, and Alcaraz burst out of the gate, breaking for a 1-0 lead. The first point was illustrative: He returned a 135 mph serve, then capped a 10-stroke exchange with a delicate drop shot.

To be clear, Fritz played quite well for stretches, conjuring a quality with his neon-orange racket frame that would have been enough to overcome most foes on grass.

As anyone paying attention — including Sinner — knows, Alcaraz is not just any foe.

“He has so many different ways to win,” Fritz said.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Italy's Jannik Sinner celebrates after beating Serbia's Novak Djokovic in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Jannik Sinner of Italy and Novak Djorkovic of Serbia chat after the men's semifinal singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Novak Djorkovic of Serbia reacts during the men's semifinal singles match against Jannik Sinner of Italy at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Italy's Jannik Sinner returns to Serbia's Novak Djokovic in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz, right, greets Taylor Fritz of the U.S. after beating him in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after beating Taylor Fritz of the U.S. in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. checks on his cut on his elbow in a break in his match against Spain's Carlos Alcaraz in a men's singles semifinal at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain returns the ball to Taylor Fritz of the U.S. during the men's semifinal singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. returns to Carlos Alcaraz of Spain during the men's semifinal singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain returns the ball to Taylor Fritz of the U.S. during the men's semifinal singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025.(AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Carlos Alcaraz of Spain reacts during the men's semifinal singles match against Taylor Fritz of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Friday, July 11, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates winning the men's singles quarter final match against Ben Shelton of the U.S. at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025.(AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to Italy's Flavio Cobolli during a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Joanna Chan)

Taylor Fritz of the U.S. reacts during the men's singles quarter final match against Karen Khachanov of Russia at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 8, 2025.(AP Photo/Kin Cheung)

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates after beating Britain's Cameron Norrie during a quarterfinal men's singles match at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the comments, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking to foreign diplomats in Tehran, insisted “the situation has come under total control” in fiery remarks that blamed Israel and the U.S. for the violence, without offering evidence.

“That’s why the demonstrations turned violent and bloody to give an excuse to the American president to intervene,” Araghchi said, in comments carried by the Qatar-funded Al Jazeera satellite news network. Al Jazeera has been allowed to report from inside the country live despite the internet being shut off.

However, Araghchi said Iran was “open to diplomacy.” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said a channel to the U.S. remained open, but talks needed to be “based on the acceptance of mutual interests and concerns, not a negotiation that is one-sided, unilateral and based on dictation.”

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, which appeared to number in the tens of thousands, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran, including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran, through the country's parliamentary speaker, warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)