world no. 1 Jannik Sinner defeated Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 on Sunday to win his second straight Wimbledon title at the All England Club. This is Sinner’s fifth Grand Slam title and his first tournament since his painful second-round exit at the French Open, where he suffered a severe collapse in difficult conditions.After sealing victory with a stunning forehand winner on the line for his first championship point, the Italian dropped to his back on the grass to celebrate. Last year, Sinner also responded to the disappointment at Roland Garros by winning Wimbledondefeated Carlos Alcaraz in the final after dropping three match points against the Spaniard in the French Open final.The win also extended Sinner’s dominance over Zverev, marking his 10th straight victory over the German, who arrived at Wimbledon after winning his first Grand Slam title at the French Open.
Zverev’s injury proved costly
The final remained evenly balanced until the third set when Zverev earned his first break point of the match at 3-3 after 2 hours and 42 minutes of play.During the point, Sinner played a drop shot and Zverev fell to the grass while chasing it. The German appeared to hyperextend his right knee and was clearly uncomfortable.The sinner immediately walked to the net to help his opponent up. Although Zverev continued to play, he seemed troubled by the injury.Soon after, he missed a forehand, threw his racket in frustration and lost serve for the first time in the match, allowing the Sinner to go ahead 5-3 before comfortably serving out the set.Before that, Zverev ended Sinner’s run of 14 straight sets against him by winning a tight opening-set tiebreak with a forehand winner. He celebrated with a loud roar towards his team.Throughout the match, Zverev consistently served speeds of up to 139 mph (224 kph), while Sinner relied on accurate and well-placed aces. As the match progressed, however, Sinner began to read Zverev’s serve better, especially in the second set tiebreak, where the German also began making more forehand errors.
Perfect response after the tragedy in Paris
Sinner arrives at Wimbledon looking to put a disappointing French Open campaign behind him.In late May, the Italian suffered a shocking second-round loss to world no. 56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo after his 30-match winning streak ended even within one game of a straight-set victory in extremely hot and humid conditions.After that loss, Sinner underwent a medical examination in Milan and did not play another official match until Wimbledon.His London campaign began with a hard-fought five-set victory over Miomir Kecmanovic after dropping the opening set. Since then, he has not lost another set until the final, including a dominant semifinal victory over Novak Djokovic.
Ranking update:
Despite finishing runner-up, Zverev surpassed Carlos Alcaraz to become the new world no. 2 when the rankings are updated on Monday.Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury.