WIMBLEDON, England — Forty-five days after his shocking second-round loss at Roland Garros, and 163 days after his bid for a third consecutive Australian Open title was derailed in the semifinals, Jannik Sinner found himself back at the top of the tennis world Sunday.
Sinner became Wimbledon champion for the second consecutive year with a 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 victory over world No. 2 Alexander Zverev, who ultimately won the title in Paris. After clinching the trophy with a forehand winner after a tense three hours and 46 minutes, he collapsed to the ground and covered his eyes with his hands, looking completely relieved.
It had been a year since he last lifted a big trophy, and it was as if all the emotions had caught up with him in an instant. But then he sat back down, straightened up quickly, and hugged Zverev.
Suddenly everything seemed familiar again and he was back in the place and position where he belonged. Sinner, 24, became his fifth Grand Slam champion.
He thanked the crowd during the trophy presentation ceremony and explained that players never know how many times they get the chance to play on Center Court on Championship Sunday, and how special it is. “I never take things for granted,” he added.
But after his stunning come-from-behind victory, he silenced everyone who had begun to doubt his greatness by making it clear that he should remain a favorite almost everywhere he plays, a player who could win countless finals and trophies.
And after an eventful year, this year meant everything.
Darren Cahill, one of Sinner’s coaches, said after the game, “We arrived here 12 days early and didn’t play in the lead-in tournament, so we knew the first few games were going to be very difficult for him.” “He just puts his head down and goes to work. He’s had a great attitude throughout this tournament.
“He’s going to have a long and illustrious career. He’s going to put himself in a position to win more in these major tournaments. I don’t think this game was more important than the others he’s played, but it felt very special, that’s for sure.”
My expectations were not disappointed Sinner was higher at the start of Roland Garros.
After a disappointing five-set loss to Novak Djokovic at the Australian Open, he put together one of the most impressive winning streaks in recent memory, winning all five Masters 1000-level tournaments in the spring, starting on the hard courts of Indian Wells and ending on clay at the Italian Open. He was the overwhelming favorite to win both the French Open and Wimbledon as strong rival Carlos Alcaraz was sidelined with a long-term wrist injury.
Victory in Paris would give him a career Grand Slam, a rare feat in tennis and one he accomplished at just 24 years old.
After winning the first round of his routine, he achieved a 30-fight winning streak. Then, in his match against world No. 56 Juan Manuel Cerundro, he led 6-3, 6-2, 5-1, with one game left to advance. But on a sweltering day in the Parisian heatwave, Sinner withered in the sun’s rays. What happened next is well known and has already become part of his legend.
While serving for the match at 5-4, 0-40, he had a cramp and walked back to his chair. He then left the courtroom for several minutes to receive medical treatment. The sinner returned, but was never fully recovered. He gave up 18 points in seven straight games, extending into the fourth set. And he found himself in a previously unthinkable decision set.
The match ultimately ended with a shocking score of 3-6, 2-6, 7-5, 6-1, 6-1, making Sinner the first top-seeded player to lose in this tournament since 2000. In front of a wall of reporters, Sinner explained that he wasn’t feeling well, but it wasn’t because of the heat.
0:54
Sinner recovers from fall to win 1 point, Zverev slams his racket
“I can’t remember the last time I felt so weak,” Sinner said. “But, look, it is what it is. Today I tried everything I had to stay there and this was the most I had. Of course, (it’s) disappointing because I was playing really well in the first few sets and I was playing really well in the third set. Yeah, that’s the sport.”
But now that he has unexpected extra time to prepare for Wimbledon, he vows he can turn things around.
“We now need time to process what went wrong here and I’m sure we’ll have some good practice in the weeks leading up to Wimby,” he said. “…There are still a lot of tournaments left this year.”
Just two weeks ago, before play began at the All England Club, Sinner spoke to the media again. This time, he spoke more openly about the effects of the heat. He said he and his team have focused on playing in hot conditions during grass-court practices, but he’s not promising immediate results.
“We’re happy with what we’re doing at the moment,” he said. “We don’t know the results here. It’s a long process. There’s no magic behind it.”
But Sinner, who played in the first game of the tournament on Center Court, typical of the reigning men’s champion, didn’t immediately look the same untouchable force he had been all spring. He dropped the first set to world No. 50 Miomir Kecmanovic and it looked like another upset was on the way.
Somehow, after five sets, three-and-a-half hours, 52 unforced errors, a hard fall on the grass, and even blood stains from his toenails on his sneakers, Sinner emerged victorious. However, it was not the most convincing effort and once again put his favorite position in jeopardy.
He later attributed the late start to nerves, but Sinner quickly found a way to allay any doubts. His second match against Nuno Borges required two tie-breaks, but he never dropped a set again on the way to the final. When he faced Djokovic in the semi-finals, their first meeting since the Australian Open, Sinner was the epitome of clinical efficiency. He landed a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 takedown that Djokovic simply described as “a good old blowout.”
“I don’t think I did too much wrong,” a disappointed Djokovic said after the match. “I was a level or two below him. I mean, he played very solid from end to end. … It’s very difficult to read his serve, but it’s become an incredible weapon in the last few years since he changed his technique. Of course, he’s actually as solid as anyone at the back of the court. That’s it.”
Sinner faced just one break point in the entire match. He saved it with an ace. This is the third time in Djokovic’s esteemed major career that he has failed to break serve at the end of a match.
Going into Sunday’s final against Zverev, Sinner was heavily favored to win, largely due to his recent dominance over the German. Sinner has a 10-4 record against Zverev, winning their last nine meetings dating back to 2023. Perhaps even more surprising is that Sinner hasn’t lost a set or a service game to Zverev in his last seven matches.
In the previous and only final of the competition, held in Melbourne last year, Sinner clinched the title with a quick and merciless 6-3, 7-6 (4), 6-3 victory.
“Generally speaking, Jannik is better than me at the moment,” Zverev said after the match. “It’s that simple.”
But Sunday was different. It was the first time the two faced each other since Zverev finally became a major champion, seizing the moment in Paris without stopping Sinner or Alcaraz, and he had another level of confidence. Zverev continued his relentless attack from the start, resulting in a fiercely fought second set where he was unable to break serve and both sets ended in tiebreaks. The crowd was keenly aware of Zverev’s underdog status and history against Sinner, and seemed to sense the potential for an upset.
Everything was even at the start of the third set.
But the momentum began to shift. Zverev slipped and took a hard fall in the seventh game, wincing as he struggled with pain in his right knee. Sinner helped him off the ground and Zverev was able to continue playing. Sinner then closed out the game with the next two points to maintain serve.
But in the next game, Sinner finally broke through, suddenly feeling firmly in control of his own destiny. He scored a set right after that. Zverev got frustrated and slammed his racket on the ground.
In stark contrast, Sinner showed little sign of emotion throughout, instead continuing to display a steady calmness and undeniable determination. In the fourth set, after both men exchanged serve for the first six games, Sinner broke behind a forehand winner and broke again. Victory now seemed inevitable.
Sinner secured the next four points on serve with one game remaining. Zverev fought back with holds of his own, but was unable to stop Sinner.
“Yanik, I don’t really like you anymore,” Zverev joked in an on-court interview. “I lost to you nine times in a row…He showed once again why he is the best player in the world.”
0:17
Sinner wins second set in tiebreak vs. Zverev
Sunday marked their 10th consecutive loss, but their feelings remained the same. At his best, Sinner is nearly impossible for anyone other than Carlos Alcaraz to defeat. But after playing his first major final since losing to Alcaraz at the US Open in September, Sinner said he was thinking about nothing else but trying to enjoy the moment.
And what he’s discovered over the past year, perhaps more than anything else, is perspective.
“The only thing that makes me very happy is that I try to do my best every day,” Sinner said Sunday night to another packed room filled with reporters. “Sometimes you get good results in tournaments, sometimes you don’t, and there’s really nothing you can do about it.
“It’s not a failure if you don’t win a Grand Slam. It’s a very, very rare day. We’ve got five in our lives right now. We’re talking about five Grand Slams. But at the end of the day, it’s five days like a lot of other days. I just want to enjoy it. Today was a very tough day. Even if we lose, it’s still a great day. It’s very rare and very special to play in a Grand Slam final.”
