Sinner holds off Zverev to defend Wimbledon title

By

BBC Sport tennis news reporter at Wimbledon

Jannik Sinner demonstrated once again why he is the world's best player after holding off Alexander Zverev to win back-to-back Wimbledon men's singles titles.

Italy's Sinner gradually took control of an extremely tight contest to win 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 6-4 at the All England Club.

German second seed Zverev played confidently and boldly as he looked to back up his maiden Grand Slam victory at the French Open last month.

But it was still not enough to beat Sinner in an intense, high-quality encounter that gripped a star-studded Centre Court.

"It has been an amazing final once again. It always takes two players," said Sinner, who claimed the fifth Grand Slam title of his career with his first major win in 2026.

"I'm very happy about the win but also about the level we played."

The Prince and Princess of Wales, along with Hollywood stars Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller, watched on as Sinner worked his way through the match against a determined Zverev.

Sinner's relief was clear as he threw himself to the floor in celebration after securing victory in three hours and 46 minutes - the second longest win of his career.

Sinner - who has now won his past 10 matches against Zverev - is the 10th man to retain the Wimbledon men's trophy since the Open era began in 1968.

"Jannik, I don't really like you any more," joked Zverev, who will move above the injured Carlos Alcaraz to second in the world rankings on Monday.

"He showed once again why he is the best player in the world."

Alongside generational rival Alcaraz, Sinner has dominated the men's game over the past few seasons, and most expected him to comfortably add to his Grand Slam tally this year.

However, Sinner lost to Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semi-finals and then, having arrived at the French Open on a 29-match winning streak, surprisingly wilted in the second round at Roland Garros.

At Wimbledon, with Melbourne champion Alcaraz missing for the second successive major with a wrist injury, Sinner has reiterated why he is already a true great of the game.

Coming through a gruelling fortnight - particularly in the hot conditions that have troubled him previously - is testament to the work Sinner has put in.

After his shock loss in Paris, Sinner retreated from competitive action and did not play a tournament leading up to Wimbledon.

The decision to take a physical and mental break, as well as trying to find the cause of his problems in the heat, has paid off.

Sinner showed a degree of vulnerability early in the tournament, needing five sets to creep past Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic, but has grown in confidence and quality over the fortnight.

The manner in which he dismantled Djokovic in the last four was a clear sign of his level - and he needed to find his very best on Sunday to overcome Zverev.

Sinner served well to limit Zverev to only one break point, defended the baseline supremely to counter his opponent's aggressive approach and clinically took his chances when they came in the final two sets.

Zverev was tipped as a future Grand Slam champion since his teenage years, when he was a prodigious talent following older brother Mischa around on tour.

Many thought his chance to win a major had slipped away as Sinner and Alcaraz began to dominate, but Zverev finally shook off the unwanted tag of the best current player to have never won a major at Roland Garros last month.

Sinner's early loss in Paris opened the door for Zverev. He had no such luxury at the All England Club.

If Zverev was going to win Wimbledon it looked increasingly likely he would need to beat Sinner - and with that came a huge mental challenge.

Zverev had lost their previous nine meetings and had not won any of the past 13 sets. That included a dismal showing in May's Madrid Open final, where Zverev's lack of belief was staggering in a 6-1 6-2 loss.

At Wimbledon, Zverev needed his serve to fire if he had any chance. He also needed something different.

Zverev has often been accused of playing too passively in the biggest matches against better opponents, but he came out with more attacking intent against Sinner.

Stepping closer to the baseline, Zverev was keen to take more risk with his forehand and impose himself on Sinner.

The risk-reward strategy paid dividends as he won the first set. It seemed unlikely he would be able to maintain that level throughout - but Zverev stuck to his gameplan and largely managed to keep executing it.

Had he taken his only break point of the match at 3-3 in the third set, it could have been a different story.

However, Zverev slipped trying to reach a Sinner drop-shot and, although he quickly allayed fears he was injured, the momentum raced away from him.

Addressing his team, Zverev said: "We had a pretty good two months, even though we lost this final.

"We came into Wimbledon having never reached the quarter-finals, and we reached a first final.

"At 29, this is the first time I believed I could win this trophy."