Jannik Sinner found another Wimbledon title waiting on the other side of disappointment in Paris.
The world No. 1 successfully defended his championship at the All England Club on Sunday, rallying past Germany’s Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 on Centre Court. Sinner’s fifth Grand Slam title came in his first tournament since a second-round collapse at the French Open ended his 30-match winning streak.
It marked the second straight year the Italian star responded to a painful Roland Garros exit by lifting the trophy in London. Last year, Sinner arrived at Wimbledon after letting three championship points slip away against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain in the French Open final.
“There is no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said afterward. “You can feel the nerves Sunday morning waking up and it is a very special day and you never know how many times you will be able to come back on Sunday, so I never take things for granted.”
Zverev gave Sinner little room early Sunday. The German repeatedly leaned on his serve and captured a tight opening-set tiebreaker, ending a run of 14 consecutive sets lost to Sinner.
Sinner answered by taking control of the second tiebreaker. The first break point for either player did not arrive until the third set, more than 2 1/2 hours into the match.
That game also raised the biggest concern of the final. Zverev slipped behind the baseline while trying to change direction on a Sinner drop shot and grabbed his right knee. He kept playing after Sinner crossed the net to help him up, but soon missed a forehand, losing the first break of the match and falling behind 5-3.
Sinner served out the third set, then struck again in the fourth. He held the advantage until match point, when a forehand winner down the line ended the contest and sent him onto his back on the grass in celebration.
“It has been an amazing final once again and it always takes two players and Sascha (Zverev’s nickname) and I tried to give everything we had,” Sinner said. “I am very happy about the win, but also the level that we both played.”
Sinner had a 58-49 edge in winners and committed just 25 unforced errors to Zverev’s 45.
The victory extended Sinner’s winning streak against Zverev to 10 matches and made him the 10th man in the Open Era to successfully defend the Wimbledon singles title.
“I’m very happy that I’m trying to do my best every day,” Sinner said. “Sometimes you have a tournament with a good outcome, and sometimes you just don’t.
“There is no failure if you don’t win a Grand Slam. Now I have five in my whole life. We talk about five Grand Slams, but that’s five days out of so many other days. These are very, very rare days.
“You just want to enjoy it. Today was a very tough day. If I lose, it’s still a great day. Playing a Grand Slam final, it’s so rare and so special.”
Zverev was looking for his second straight major championship. He won the French Open last month.
“At 29 years old, this is the first time that I believe I can actually win this trophy,” Zverev said of the Wimbledon hardware. “… We had a pretty good two months even though we lost this final. An amazing two months.”
–Field Level Media
