By Martyn Herman
LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) – Italian top seed Jannik Sinner resisted an all-out onslaught by an inspired Alexander Zverev to retain his Wimbledon crown in a thunderous final and claim a fifth Grand Slam title on Sunday.
Zverev, in his first Wimbledon final hot on the heels of winning the French Open, threatened an upset after taking an intense opening set, but eventually ran out of firepower as Sinner hit back to win 6-7(7) 7-6(2) 6-3 6-4.
The destiny of the title was still on a knife edge nearly three hours into an absorbing duel but second seed Zverev’s resistance finally cracked after a nasty tumble in the third set and Sinner surged to victory.
Sinner, 24, became the first Italian to win a Wimbledon singles title last year by beating Carlos Alcaraz, and now joins an elite list of 10 men to successfully defend it in the professional era.
It was a 10th successive victory for Sinner over Zverev but this time he was pushed to the limit by the 29-year-old who had been bidding to become the first German man to win the Wimbledon title since Michael Stich in 1991.
Sinner suffered a second-round meltdown at the French Open and was close to a first-round exit against Miomir Kecmanovic a fortnight ago but ended the tournament back at his best, not dropping a single service game in the semi-final and final.
“There’s no better place, honestly, to play tennis,” Sinner said as he cradled the pineapple-topped Challenge Cup.
“I’m standing here. You can feel the nerves in a Sunday morning when you wake up, that this is a very special day, and you never know how many times you can come back. So I never take things for granted.
“It always takes two players. We try to give everything we have, I’m very happy about the win but mostly very happy also about the level we played.”
On a hot and breezy Centre Court, an intense 65-minute first full of heavy-metal tennis boiled down to tiny margins.
Only one break point was on offer in the opening 12 games with Sinner missing his chance at 4-3 on the Zverev serve when he uncharacteristically framed a forehand wide.
The pace and accuracy of Zverev’s forehand, often his Achilles heel at big moments during his career, was impressive while he dropped only eight points on serve in the opener.
ZVEREV ENDED RUN OF LOSING 14 SUCCESSIVE SETS AGAINST SINNER
Zverev reached set point first in the tiebreak but was passed at the net after chasing down a rare drop shot.
He then saved set point with an ace and when his chance came again, the free-flowing German cracked away a forehand winner, ending Sinner’s run of winning 14 successive sets against Zverev.
Frustration began to show on the 24-year-old Sinner’s face early in the second set as he could make no dents in Zverev’s armour with the German’s serve looking invincible.
But in the day’s second tiebreak, Sinner turned up the heat to level the match.
An absorbing duel full of booming serves and ferocious ball-striking from the baseline veered towards Sinner at 3-3 in the third set when Zverev earned his first break point of the match after two hours and 42 minutes.
As the Italian conjured a deft drop shot, Zverev slipped behind the dusty baseline trying to change direction and fell awkwardly. Sinner walked around to check on his opponent and while Zverev said he was okay, he was clearly shaken.
Sinner held and then broke serve for the first time as Zverev was moving a little gingerly, the German flinging away his racket across the turf in frustration.
Zverev recovered his poise in the fourth set but Sinner was locked in and broke serve for 4-3.
The best was saved for last with two incredible rallies as Sinner served for the title, the Italian sealing victory after three hours and 46 minutes.
While a fourth Grand Slam final defeat stung, Zverev can look back on an incredible couple of months having claimed his first major title at the 41st attempt and making his first big impact on Wimbledon’s lawns.
“At 29, this is the first time I believed I could win this trophy,” Zverev said.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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