Jannik Sinner Snapped His Five-Match Losing Streak To Alcaraz For The Wimbledon Championship

When Jannik Sinner had put away chances in Sunday’s Wimbledon final, he finished the drill. He ensured any windows of opportunity for Carlos Alcaraz were slammed shut before they could mature into another Grand Slam meltdown.

Sinner recovered from losing the first set to the grass court 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to dethrone his nemesis on tour.

Sinner, the world No. 1, is the first Italian to win on the men’s side at Wimbledon and snapped Alcaraz’s 20-match streak in London dating back to 2023.

“End of the day, it doesn’t really matter if I won or lost [in Paris], it was just as important [after the] tournament to understand what you did wrong,” Sinner said after the match. “That’s exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and just keep working. I’m so grateful that I’m healthy and I have great people around me.”

Sinner’s primary weapons are his power, strength and speed – and he flexed the full repertoire against Alcaraz. His performance over the final three sets looked close to the level of play he reached previously to start the French Open final against the 22-year-old Spaniard, before that momentum wasted away late.

This time around, Sinner dropped the first set, and it looked – initially – like he was going to drop his sixth straight match to Alcaraz. That’s when multiple looks to his coaching box during the changeover led to what appeared to be a schematic changeup of sorts.

Sinner started approaching the net more to combat Alcaraz’s drops and forced ball placement the rest of the battle, running his opponent from corner to corner with a swift forehand. A more consistent serve helped, too.

One of the most mechanically sound players on tour, Sinner’s shots weren’t as crisp last time out against Alcaraz, but that changed on the worn grass at the All England Lawn Tennis Club. Several times in the final set, Sinner pressed the issue and fired a couple of leaping backhand missiles toward an unguarded Alcaraz.

Unlike the last match, it was Alcaraz playing under pressure for the majority of three hours on court after Sinner won the second set and began to tighten his grip on the outcome. This was by design according to Sinner’s team, who revealed before the match they wanted to make Alcaraz play the entire court and disrupt patterns this time around.

Several fist pumps later, another break of serve in the fourth set, it was Sinner shaking the hands of The Princess of Wales to commemorate his first major on grass.