Jannik Sinner conquers Carlos Alcaraz to win first Wimbledon title

WIMBLEDON, England — The vision of Jannik Sinner covered in sweat and red dust, bleary-eyed and emotionless, will not soon be forgotten by those who watched last month’s epic French Open final matching the current standard-bearers in men’s tennis. Sinner led by two sets and had three championship points against Carlos Alcaraz but lost the trophy anyway. After 5 hours 29 minutes, there was nothing he could do but stare into the void.

That image remains. But Sunday at Wimbledon, it was supplemented by a new one — a happy one.

Five weeks after suffering one of the most agonizing Grand Slam defeats in years, Sinner raised both arms in victory and smiled after delivering a 137-mph serve that Alcaraz couldn’t return, sealing his first Wimbledon championship, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. With his arms still above his head, he laughed before dropping them and blowing a sigh of relief.

“This was a dream of a dream,” he said.

His victory accomplished two things: It gave him his first major title on a surface other than hard court, where he has won twice at the Australian Open and once at the U.S. Open. Now there is no doubt that Sinner — the first Italian to win a singles title at Wimbledon — has a full resume. He’s the world No. 1 with 19 career titles who played in an astounding fourth consecutive major final Sunday.

Yet the ultimate testament to the quality of a player’s game is success at Grand Slams across surfaces.

But mostly, Sunday was a matter of keeping pace with Alcaraz. As significant as their rivalry is to tennis at large as a dazzling driver of interest in the sport and a defining element of this era of the men’s game, it also matters deeply to both players. One of Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill, said his student watches Alcaraz matches more than he watches anyone else on tour.

“He’s fascinated with the improvements that are coming in (Alcaraz’s) game,” Cahill said, “and he’s pushing us as coaches to make sure that he’s improving also as a tennis player as well.”

Alcaraz kept it simple when he addressed Sinner during the trophy presentation on the court.

“Thank you,” the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon champion said, “for the player you are.”

Sunday’s Wimbledon men’s final was the first to feature the same players from that year’s French Open final since the 2008 classic between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. Alcaraz is just 22, Sinner just 23, and already they have combined to win nine of the past 12 Grand Slam titles, including the past seven. Novak Djokovic took the other three.

The rivalry had been tilting the Spaniard’s way until Sunday, when Sinner got his first win in six meetings — Alcaraz’s five-match winning streak had dated from March 2024.

“Jannik has had chances in maybe four of the five matches they’ve played to beat him. Hasn’t been able to get the victory,” Cahill said. “So today was important not just because it was a Grand Slam final, not just because it was Wimbledon, and not just because Carlos had won the last five matches against him. He needed that win today.”