LONDON (AP) — Jannik Sinner has defeated two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to win his first Wimbledon championship and reverse the result of their epic French Open final five weeks ago. The victory Sunday by the No. 1-ranked Sinner gave him his fourth Grand Slam title overall. It also allowed the 23-year-old Italian to put an end to several streaks for No. 2 Alcaraz. It was Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, who had won the past five head-to-head matches between the two young rivals. And Alcaraz entered the day on a career-best 24-match unbeaten run. Alcaraz also had won 20 matches in a row at the All England Club. The last man to beat Alcaraz at Wimbledon was Sinner in 2022.
Sinner broke Alcaraz for a 5-4 lead in the third set in the highly anticipated meeting that comes just five weeks after the pair played an epic match to determine the French Open champion.
In the second set, Sinner broke Alcaraz in the opening game and then held serve the rest of the way. That was despite being interrupted by a fan in the stands popping open a champagne bottle as Sinner was getting ready to serve out the game at 2-1 up. The cork landed at Sinner’s feet, causing Alcaraz to raise both hands and shake his head in frustration.
Sinner lost the following point but went on to hold for a 3-1 lead.
The matchup at Centre Court marked the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008.
Alcaraz defeated Sinner in five sets spread over 5 hours, 29 minutes in Paris on June 8, coming back from a two-set deficit and saving three match points along the way.
That made Alcaraz 5-0 in Grand Slam finals, including victories in 2023 and 2024 at Wimbledon.
He also carried a career-best 24-match winning streak into Sunday.
Sinner won the U.S. Open last September and the Australian Open this January.
Sinner is wearing the tape and arm sleeve to protect his right elbow that he has been using since falling in the opening game of his fourth-round win on Monday. After eliminating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Sinner said he didn’t think his elbow would be an issue on Sunday.