Wimbledon men’s final: Jannik Sinner repeats as champion after weathering early challenge from Alexander Zverev

The field was open for Sinner with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, whom the Italian beat in last year’s Wimbledon final. However, he entered following disappointments in the previous two major championships, when he was upset by Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinal then cramped his way out of Roland-Garros.

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For a player who is usually unflappable when the weather agrees with him, it was an odd run, especially with him making history by winning all five Masters 1000 titles between March and May. This tournament got off to a shaky start as well, with Sinner having to survive in five sets against Miomir Kecmanović with his foot bleeding through his shoe.

Sinner proceeded to win every subsequent match up to Sunday in straight sets, which included a masterclass against Djokovic to avenge what happened in Melbourne. He again displayed a high level in the final, and he most certainly needed it.

Alexander Zverev challenged Jannik Sinner early

It was Sinner’s 10th straight win over Zverev, and he continued some remarkable streaks. Zverev hasn’t broken him in their past seven matches together, a span of time that includes 87 straight service holds. It is a remarkable level of dominance against a player who, when everyone is healthy, is the easy pick for third-best in the world.

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And yet, no one can say Zverev didn’t do what he needed to do on Sunday, at least at first.

The basic breakdown of Zverev’s game is something like this: At 6-foot-6, he is one of the hardest servers in the sport and can rack up easy points. At the same time, he is a top counter-puncher who will grind nearly any player out whenever they get into a neutral rally. It is usually an effective combination, but it has proven ineffective against Sinner and Alcaraz, who are mobile enough and such good ball-strikers that they can overwhelm Zverev in spots where he’s usually comfortable.

With Zverev’s forehand shaky compared to his elite backhand, it is usually a major liability against Sinner, who is capable of blowing players away from both wings. Zverev was almost never aggressive enough with the shot to get Sinner out of his rhythm in their last several meetings.

That was different on Sunday. Both men served at an absurdly high level, but what stood out in the first two sets was Sinner’s willingness to let it fly from his forehand, even when in neutral. It led to unforced errors, 45 for Zverev compared to Sinner’s 25, but it also won him points he usually loses against the Italian.

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With Zverev also bombing his serves, sitting above 130 mph on his first while getting 76% of them in, he had Sinner on even footing.

There was one break point total in the first two sets, both of which went to tiebreaks. Zverev won the first, and it was at that point he was truly looking like a new player.