LONDON: Jannik Sinner retained his Wimbledon title by beating Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7) 7-6 (2) 6-3 6-4 in the final on Sunday to claim his fifth Grand Slam crown and extend his dominance over the German to 10 consecutive victories.
The victory put Sinner in rare company as the tenth man in the professional era to successfully defend the title, strengthening his credentials as one of the dominant players of his generation as he chases the seven majors of his great rival Carlos Alcaraz.
“Honestly, there’s no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said while cradling the pineapple-topped Challenge Cup.
“I’m here. You can feel the nerves on a Sunday morning when you wake up, which is a very special day and you never know how many times you can come back. So I never take things for granted.
“Playing in front of very special people over the two weeks. It’s been incredible. Thank you for the support. You are always amazing to me and you gave me the most special feeling a tennis player can ever feel.”
Zverev takes the lead
The two finalists faced each other for 12 games in a high-octane first set on a warm and windy afternoon, before Zverev accelerated and landed a powerful forehand winner to secure a gripping tie-break, screaming and ducking in celebration.
The clean ball striking continued, but Zverev began to show signs of frustration late in the second set, where a much more animated Sinner took advantage in the tie-break and tied the contest at one set apiece.
Injury scare for the German
Zverev earned his first break point midway through the third set after more than two and a half hours, but slipped and fell to the floor after being deflected by a Sinner drop. With Zverev screaming in agony, the Center Court crowd gasped as he rolled onto his back clutching his right knee.
The second seed dusted himself off and moved on, but was left fuming when Sinner pounced in the next game to take a 5-3 lead, slamming his racquet into the ground, and soon found himself trailing the Italian two sets to one after almost three hours of battle.
The sinner takes full control
Sinner broke again for a 4-3 lead in the fourth set when Zverev’s level briefly dropped, and the 24-year-old held firm in an entertaining moment to complete the victory and then collapsed on the threadbare grass in celebration.
A dejected Zverev was left reflecting on what could have been after a fourth Grand Slam final defeat.
“I don’t like you anymore,” Zverev jokingly told Sinner.
“To be fair, I lost to you nine (sic) times in a row,” he added, losing count of his losing streak against Sinner.
“Congratulations to Jannik, he showed once again why he is the best player in the world. It was great to share center court with you on finals weekend. It’s a great honor to be here. Unfortunately, it didn’t go the way I wanted.”
