Jannik Sinner has snapped a five-match losing skid against Carlos Alcaraz – and exacted revenge for his Roland-Garros defeat – to dethrone the two-defending champion and capture his maiden Wimbledon title.

In a dream sequel to that five-hour, 29-minute classic in Paris, where Sinner blew three championship points to lose in five sets, Italy’s world No.1 came from a set down on the All England club’s grass to score a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 triumph in the London final.

Living up to the hype, Alcaraz strikes first, Sinner levels the match, The defining set

Jannik Sinner kisses the famous trophy.

It is the 23-year-old’s fourth grand slam triumph and first away from a hardcourt, leaving Roland-Garros as the only trophy missing from his collection.

“It’s so special because seeing my parents here, my brother, my whole team – it’s amazing,” Sinner said.

“I would say [this was tougher] emotionally because I had a very tough loss in Paris, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you win or lose … you just have to understand what you did wrong. That’s exactly what we did. I tried to accept the loss and keep working, and that is one of the reasons why I hold the trophy here.”

Sinner enjoyed good fortune to make it this far, given he trailed Grigor Dimitrov by two sets in the fourth round at the start of the week before the Bulgarian retired with a right pectoral muscle injury that has since required surgery.

A four-point sequence from double-break-point down while serving for a 5-3 lead in the fourth set proved the decisive moment for Sinner as he avoided the cruel fate that befell him on the brink of victory in France.

Sinner was two sets from the title in the next game on Alcaraz’s serve, but the script demanded that the Italian close it out himself, to banish the demons from five weeks ago.

Unlike last time, Sinner did not flinch, from the moment he outlasted Alcaraz in a baseline exchange on the first point. He raced to triple championship point, and fired down a 220km/h serve – his fastest of the day – on the second of them that Alcaraz could not return to complete his four-set win.

A huge smile instantly broke out on Sinner’s face, with arms aloft, before he met Alcaraz for a friendly exchange at the net, as the latest – but certainly not the last – chapter in their captivating rivalry concluded.

“It’s always difficult to lose, even in the final,” Alcaraz said.

Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner.

“I’m very, very happy and proud about everything I’m doing. At the beginning of the season, I struggled a bit on the court, off the court, but then suddenly I really started to be happy again and [bring] that excitement I have every time I step on the court.”

Living up to the hype

The second grand slam final between the ATP Tour’s new superstars was hugely anticipated, so much so that the queue to occupy a patch of grass on Henman Hill – or Murray Mound, whatever tickles your fancy – was hundreds of metres long.

Jannik Sinner in full flight.

Even Prince William made the trek to Wimbledon, joining the Princess of Wales, who backed up from the women’s final, while the Hewitts – Lleyton and Bec – were one row back with Andre Agassi. King Felipe of Spain jumped on a plane to be there, too.

Alcaraz ended his post-match speech by saying how honoured he was that the King came to watch him.

Sinner doubted after his straight-sets semi-final win over seven-time champion Novak Djokovic two days ago whether he and Alcaraz could live up to their Roland-Garros thriller.

But these two prizefighters don’t know how to do routine, at least when they are on opposite ends of a baseline.

The theory in tennis circles was that Sinner needed this one, since Alcaraz had won all five of their on-court stoushes since the start of last year, to go 8-4 ahead in their career head-to-head. They were all close, but the Spaniard kept winning them. Until now.

Alcaraz strikes first

If anything, Alcaraz started the sharper with a series of searing first serves in the opening game as Sinner took time to find his range – but the Italian pocketed the first break off a stray forehand from the Spaniard.

Sinner seemed to be cruising to a one-set lead at 4-2, but an incredible Alcaraz backhand volley, which he generated such angle on that the world No.1 did not bother trying to chase it down, and some wayward Sinner forehands changed the trajectory.

The Italian became his own worst enemy.

He shockingly sprayed a forehand drive volley before slipping behind the baseline – the first of two in as many games – to afford Alcaraz as long as he wanted to execute a drop shot winner and bring up set point.

Carlos Alcaraz bagged one set, but it wasn’t enough to deny Jannik Sinner.

Sinner saved that one, but double-faulted to hand Alcaraz a second opportunity, setting the stage for the first big highlight of the match.

They proceeded to tee off at each other from the baseline as the crowd gasped at every blow, then Sinner upped the ante again with a ferocious forehand, only for Alcaraz to miraculously block it back over the net for a stunning winner.

The roar was instantaneous as Alcaraz pricked his ear back for even more appreciation and raised his fist in triumph.

Sinner levels the match

But Alcaraz’s rampage stopped abruptly. Sinner’s paper-thin gap between his best and worst is famous, whereas Alcaraz’s form can turn on and off as swiftly as a light switch.

He double-faulted to start the set, was 0-40 in a flash, then staved off two break points, but cleared the baseline on a forehand to immediately fall behind. It was just the boost Sinner needed.

Even so, little came easy on serve for Sinner in the period after, including fending off a break-back point. Alcaraz started holding easily, but Sinner’s service games became tense viewing to see if he would hang on.

There was even an oh-so-Wimbledon moment mid-set where a champagne cork invaded centre court and caused a minor disruption between points. Sinner said afterwards that moments like that were “exactly why we love playing here”.

Then, with Alcaraz leading 40-0, down 2-4, the light switch went off again. He inexplicably double-faulted on back-to-back points to go break point down before escaping.

Sinner moved on quickly from that missed chance, playing his best game of the match at 5-4 to draw level at a set-all.

The crowd erupted when he scrambled to an Alcaraz dropper, then flicked a cross-court backhand winner to start that game. Sinner also walloped a down-the-line forehand winner, and clinched the set with a full-throttle forehand that he slapped beyond Alcaraz’s reach.

The defining set

The third set became more match-defining the longer it went, with neither Sinner nor Alcaraz able to make an early imprint, once the Spaniard defied two more double faults, and a 15-40 hole, to go 1-0 up.

Right from the outset, this was not an occasion for playing with margin. Sinner, in particular, was willing to miss his share of shots to risk breathtaking winners that dusted the sidelines. There was plenty of both as the stakes increased.

At 3-4, 40-30, Sinner produced an extraordinary volley ’tweener – he had no other option to keep the point alive – but fluffed an overhead that should have been a straightforward putaway.

What came next summed up how Sinner performed in many of the big moments. He rifled a 188km/h ace to bring up game point, then a 211km/h heater out wide that also beat Alcaraz’s racquet.

The pressure began to take its toll on Alcaraz, who continued to try to avoid extended baseline exchanges with Sinner by mixing in drop shots. But that tactic backfired on the first point of the ninth game when his drop shot landed wide – and the Italian made it in time, regardless.

At 30-all, Sinner’s fearless hitting came to the fore again, pounding a forehand winner to earn another break point.

Then came some luck: Sinner pushed Alcaraz into a worn section well beyond the baseline, and the usually sure-footed Spaniard took a tumble. The world No.1 put the simplest of volleys into the open court to secure the break, then waited for a thumbs up from Alcaraz before scooting to his courtside chair.

There were no hassles from there in Sinner going two-sets-to-one up.

Marc McGowan travelled to Wimbledon with the assistance of Tennis Australia.

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