Sinner bounces back to make history

Jannik Sinner insisted early on at Wimbledon that he had put the excruciating loss to Carlos Alcaraz in their epic French Open final behind him. Sinner was sure that one defeat wouldn't haunt him, wouldn't prevent a quick recalibration and certainly wouldn't mean a thing at the All England Club.

He was sure right about all of that.

Exactly five weeks after that devastating defeat to his rival at Roland Garros, Sinner reversed the result, beating two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4,6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win his first championship at the grass-court major — and become the first Italian to do so.

"At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter how you win or you lose the important tournaments. You just have to understand what you did wrong. Trying to work on that — that's exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and then just kept working," Sinner said Sunday, his latest piece of gold hardware in his hands. "And this is, for sure, why I'm holding this trophy here."

The No 1-ranked Sinner earned his fourth Grand Slam title overall, moving him one away from No 2 Alcaraz's total, as the two stars of the game separate themselves from the rest of the pack in men's tennis.

"Very emotional, even if I don't cry," Sinner told reporters on Sunday. "It feels emotional, because only me and the people who are close to me, know exactly what we have been through on and off the court, and it has been everything except easy.

"We've tried to push every practice session, even if I was struggling at times mentally. Maybe even more in practice sessions, because I feel like, when I play the match, I can switch off and just play. I believe that this helped me a lot."

Sinner, 23, put an end to several streaks for 22-year-old Alcaraz, who had been 5-0 in Grand Slam finals.

The Spaniard had won their last five matches, most famously across five sets and nearly five-and-a-half hours on the red clay of the French Open on June 8. Sinner took a two-set lead, then held a trio of match points, but couldn't close the deal.

"Today was important, not just because it was a Grand Slam final, not just because it was Wimbledon, and not just because Carlos had won the last five matches against him," said Darren Cahill, one of Sinner's two coaches, who had planned to leave the team at the end of 2025, but might now stick around. "He needed that win today. So, he knew the importance of closing this one out when he had the opportunities."

Asked during the first week at Wimbledon whether what happened in Paris created lingering doubts, Sinner immediately replied: "Why negative feelings? Because I lost in (that) final?"

Then he continued: "No. Look, it's a new tournament, new Grand Slam, new surface. I'm not concerned about the level I can play. I'm not concerned that one loss can influence you for so long a time. I believe that here is a new chance that I can do something good."

Or, maybe, even great.

This time, he didn't waver, asserting himself in a match that featured moments of terrific play by both men, but also the occasional lapses — and one memorable, brief, interruption right before a Sinner serve when a Champagne cork came flying out of the stands and settled on the turf.

With Prince William and Princess Kate in the Royal Box, along with King Felipe VI of Spain, Alcaraz stepped into the sunlight bathing Centre Court with a career-best 24-match unbeaten run. He had won 20 matches in a row at the All England Club.

"It's difficult to lose," Alcaraz said. "It's always difficult to lose."

The last man to beat him at Wimbledon? Sinner, in the fourth round in 2022.

So this served as a bookend win for Sinner, who would be forgiven for at least thinking a bit about his collapse in their last match — especially when facing two break points while serving at 4-3, 15-40 in the fourth set Sunday.

But, he calmly took the next four points to take that game, then was soon serving out the win, after a chorus of "Car-los, Car-los" rang out from spectators.

"The things that went his way in Paris," Sinner said, "went my way this time."

When it ended, he put both hands on his white hat. After embracing Alcaraz, Sinner crouched with his head bowed, then pounded his right palm on the grass.

He has participated in four consecutive major finals, including triumphs at the US Open — shortly after the world learned about a doping case that eventually led to a three-month ban — and the Australian Open.

Wearing the same tape job and white arm sleeve to protect his right elbow that he has been using since falling in the fourth round, Sinner never showed any issues, just as he hadn't while eliminating Novak Djokovic on Friday.

In the final, Sinner and Alcaraz produced scintillating points, with few, if any, half measures. They sprinted at top speed and swung away with full force, rarely bending to the other's will.

From 4-2 down, Alcaraz took four games in a row. That spurt included a 225 km/h ace that sprayed the air with a cloud of white chalk dust and a set-capping, flick-of-a-backhand winner from an impossible angle after barely getting his racket on the ball.

As fans rose and roared, Alcaraz pointed to his ear and spun around, then pumped his right fist overhead.

Sinner was undaunted, quickly breaking to lead the second set. He returned exceptionally, even as Alcaraz served aggressively, which did lead to 15 aces — but also to a first-serve percentage of 53 and seven double-faults.

Much like at the French Open, there was often an unrelenting intensity in the three-plus hours, and any slight misstep created problems. It was Alcaraz who had more of those, although Sinner might have had the most memorable, blowing an overhead return right after coming up with a behind-the-back, through-the-legs half-volley in the third set.

In all, the pair showed why they have combined to win the past seven Grand Slam trophies, and nine of the last 12.

Fittingly, this marked the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches at the French Open and Wimbledon in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did so in 2006, '07 and '08. It hadn't happened for more than a half-century before that.

"I'm just really, really happy about having this rivalry with him," Alcaraz said about Sinner. "It's great for us, and it is great for tennis."

Agencies