World No. 1 Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Wimbledon men’s singles title on Sunday, defeating Alexander Zverev 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4. The grueling contest secured Sinner his fifth career Grand Slam and cemented his 100th career Grand Slam match victory.
The victory erased the memory of Sinner’s stunning second-round meltdown at the French Open last month, where he wilted in a Paris heatwave. For Zverev, the defeat ends a career-best Wimbledon run, as the 29-year-old German had never made it past the fourth round at the All England Club before this week.
Everything changed in the third set. Tied at 3-3, Zverev slipped while attempting to reach a drop shot and hyper-extended his right knee. He stayed on the court, but the stumble led to the match’s first break of serve. Sinner grabbed the opening and took the final two sets without looking back.
Sinner hit 58 winners to Zverev’s 49. He also played much cleaner tennis from the baseline, committing just 25 unforced errors compared to Zverev’s 45 during the 3-hour, 46-minute contest.
Winning the opening tiebreak meant Zverev finally snapped a streak of 14 consecutive sets lost to Sinner. But it wasn’t enough to stop the Italian from securing his 10th consecutive head-to-head win in their rivalry.
Zverev handled the defeat with humor during the trophy presentation. “First of all, Jannik, I don’t really like you any more,” he joked to the crowd. He admitted this tournament was the first time he truly believed he could win the Wimbledon trophy.
He doesn’t leave London empty-handed. The points earned from reaching the final guarantee Zverev will jump Carlos Alcaraz to claim the World No. 2 ranking on Monday.