Jannik Sinner downed defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win his first Wimbledon title, gaining sweet revenge for his painful defeat in the French Open final.
The world number one is the first Italian to win at the All England Club and now has four Grand Slams to his name at the age of 23.
Sinner stayed ice cool after losing the first set, with the momentum quickly shifting, and he was not broken once in the final three sets.
He squandered three championship points in the final at Roland Garros last month but this time made no mistake as he served out for victory.
Sinner said he was “living his dream”, prompting an eruption of cheers from the Centre Court crowd.
“An amazing tournament, thank you for the player you are,” he said to world number two Alcaraz. “It is so difficult to play against you.
“I am going to keep hold of this (trophy), you have two already!”
The tennis world has been captivated by the emergence of the new rivalry between the players to follow the storied “Big Three” era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Sinner and two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz have now shared the past seven Grand Slam titles between them, with the Italian winning four of those.
Defeat in Paris last month was a bitter blow for Sinner, who led by two sets and had a clutch of championship points.
Prior to Sunday’s victory, he had lost five consecutive times against Alcaraz, including the final of the Italian Open in the first tournament he played after returning from a three-month doping ban.
But this time he turned the tables in impressive fashion.
Both players were solid on serve until the fifth game, when Alcaraz sprayed a forehand long to hand Sinner the first break of the match.
But the Spaniard levelled at 4-4 to the delight of the Centre Court crowd, which included Prince William and his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales.
Sinner double-faulted to hand Alcaraz a second set point.
The Italian laced a searing forehand down the line but Alcaraz produced a magical backhand winner, pointing his finger to his ear as the crowd rose to their feet. (Punch)
English