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 found another gear 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 contest but second seed Zverev’s resistance finally cracked after a nasty tumble in the third set and Sinner surged on to the title.
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.
Zverev’s first serve percentage hovered around 80% for much of the match while his forehand, often his Achilles heel at big moments during his career, proved a fearsome weapon as he went toe-to-toe with his opponent.
Sinner’s second-round meltdown at the French Open and then a close shave in the first round here against Miomir Kecmanovic a fortnight ago raised doubts about his form and condition.
But he ended the tournament showing why he is the best in the world, not dropping a single service game in a semi-final defeat of Novak Djokovic and in a ferocious final.
NO BETTER PLACE
“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 set 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 shook Sinner early on while the 6-foot-6 German dropped only eight points on serve in the opening set.
ZVEREV ENDED RUN OF LOSING 14 SUCCESSIVE SETS AGAINST SINNER
Zverev reached set point first in a high-quality tiebreak but was passed at the net after chasing a drop shot.
He then saved set point with an ace and when his chance came again, the free-flowing German cracked away a forehand to end Sinner’s run of winning 14 successive sets against him.
Frustration began to show on Sinner’s face early in the second set as he could make no impact on Zverev’s service games with the German striding around the court in confident fashion.
But in the day’s second tiebreak, Zverev wavered for the first time and Sinner turned up the heat to level the match.
The booming serves and ferocious ball-striking continued into the third set but just when Zverev threatened to strike, the match suddenly veered towards Sinner.
ZVEREV SHAKEN BY FALL
At 3-3, Zverev earned his first break point of the match after two hours and 42 minutes but when Sinner conjured a deft drop shot, Zverev slipped behind the dusty baseline 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 Sinner winning an incredible 23-stroke rally with an angled dink to bring up match point before sealing victory — his 100th in Grand Slams — with a forehand winner after three hours and 46 minutes.
Despite a fourth Grand Slam final defeat, Zverev can reflect on the best stretch of his career after winning his first major title in Paris and finally cracking the code on Wimbledon’s lawns after never previously going past the fourth round.
“That’s the tennis I want to play. That’s the game style I want to play,” said Zverev, who will move above Alcaraz to second in the rankings on Monday.
“The more I do it, the better I’ll become hopefully.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman and Shrivathsa Sridhar, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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