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 straight wins.
The victory placed Sinner in rare company as the 10th man in the professional era to successfully defend the title, bolstering his credentials as one of the dominant players of his generation as he chases great rival Carlos Alcaraz’s seven majors.
“There’s honestly no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said as he cradled the pineapple Challenge Cup.
“I’m standing here. You can feel the nerves on a Sunday morning when you wake up, that it’s 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 amazing. Thanks for the support. You’re always amazing to me and you gave me the most special feeling a tennis player can ever feel.”
Zverev takes an early lead
Both finalists slugged it out in 12 games in a high-octane first set on a hot and windy afternoon before Zverev stepped up a gear and hit a powerful forehand winner to claim a gripping tie-break, shouting and hollering in celebration.
The clean hitting continued, but Zverev began to show signs of frustration late in the second set, with a much more animated Sinner gaining the upper hand in the tie-break and going on to level the contest at one set apiece.
Injury scare for German
Zverev brought up his first break point midway through the third set after more than 2-1/2 hours, but slipped and fell to the ground after being mishandled by a Sinner drop shot. As Zverev screamed in pain, the Center Court crowd gasped as he rolled onto his back and clutched his right knee.
The second seed dusted himself off and continued, but was left seething as Sinner pounced in the next game to break to a 5-3 lead, slamming his racquet into the floor and quickly finding himself trailing the Italian two sets to one after almost three hours of action.
Anger takes full control
Sinner broke again for a 4-3 advantage in the fourth set as Zverev’s level briefly dipped and the 24-year-old held on for an entertaining spell to complete the win before collapsing to the worn turf in celebration.
A dejected Zverev was left to ponder what might have been after a fourth Grand Slam final defeat.
“I don’t really 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 defeats 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 the finals weekend. It’s a great honor to be here. Unfortunately, it didn’t go my way.”
