Tennis
Jannik Sinner defends Wimbledon title with battling win against Alexander Zverev
Jannik Sinner fought off a full-blooded challenge from Alexander Zverev to successfully defend his Wimbledon title.
Fresh from finally winning a first grand slam crown at the French Open last month, Zverev shrugged off a woeful recent record against Sinner to claim the first set.
But, after wilting in the heat in Paris, Sinner stamped his authority firmly back on men’s tennis by battling to a 6-7 (7) 7-6 (2) 6-3 6-4 victory and a fifth major crown.
It was also a 100th grand slam match win for the world number one, who earned royal approval from the Prince and Princess of Wales, Prince George and Princess Charlotte in the front row of the Royal Box.
Sinner knew he had been in a proper fight, saying to Zverev: “You reached one of your main goals, winning a grand slam.
“If you play like this, I’m very sure you’re going to have this one at home. I know another goal is to become number one in the world. You’re very, very close. I have to be very careful now.
“It has been an amazing final once again. It always takes two players. I’m very happy about the win but I’m also very happy about the level we both played. There’s no better place to play tennis.”
Zverev has broken new ground on grass this fortnight and the 29-year-old will head home encouraged despite the loss.
“First of all, Jannik, I don’t really like you any more,” Zverev joked.
Turning to his team, he said: “We had a pretty good two months, I would say, even though we lost this final. We came into Wimbledon never reaching the quarter-finals and we played our first final. At 29 years old, this is actually the first time I believe I can win this trophy.”
After losing nine matches in a row and 14 sets against the Italian, Zverev knew he had to do something different and his intention was clear from the start.
The German stands 6ft 6in and hits the ball as sweetly as any player yet often in his career he has hung metres behind the baseline and relied on his defensive skills.
His forehand has also been prone to breaking down but he picked up where he left off in his semi-final against Britain’s Arthur Fery, stepping into the court and unleashing on the ball.
Sinner had really raised his level in a semi-final demolition of Novak Djokovic but previously had not been timing the ball particularly well, and a shanked forehand cost him the only break point of the opening two sets at 4-3.
Zverev was the better player overall, though, and it was fitting that it was a clean winner off the German’s forehand that clinched the first tie-break.
Zverev crouched down with both fists clenched looking towards his support box, roaring in delight.
The contest lacked the contrast of styles that makes clashes between Sinner and the much-missed Carlos Alcaraz so compelling but it was tight and tense, with the serves of both men snuffing out any potential opportunities.
Zverev, who will overtake Alcaraz to become world number two on Monday, seemed to have the edge still until the next tie-break, when Sinner’s forehand clicked into gear at just the right moment and suddenly he was the player dictating the rallies.
An understated fist pump towards his team greeted a missed Zverev backhand on set point and the second seed headed off to the bathroom with the momentum of the match abruptly shifted.
Unexpectedly it was Zverev who had the first look in the third set, with Sinner playing a shaky game to cough up a break point at 3-3, but he was fortunate that his opponent slipped behind the baseline.
Zverev initially looked in trouble as he held his right knee but Sinner headed round the net to give him a hand up and play soon continued.
After only two break points in two-and-three-quarter hours, another then arrived in the next game, and Sinner somehow recovered from a slip of his own mid-point to convert the opportunity, prompting Zverev to fling his racket angrily to the turf.
The gusting wind became an increasing factor as the shadows lengthened across Centre Court during the fourth set.
Sinner has only ever lost to Alcaraz in grand slam finals and, sensing another opportunity at 3-3, he played a brilliant returning game, clinching his second break with a forehand powered into the corner.
Zverev threw everything at Sinner as he tried to serve it out, the 24-year-old at one point left sprawled on the court after diving for a volley.
But, as he has for most of the last two-and-a-half years, the man from the Italian mountains had the answers, and he lay flat on his back on the turf after powering away a final winner.
