Jannik Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in four sets at Wimbledon and 1106 days later did it all over again.
Come the end of the world number one’s career, the first of those victories might not even merit a passing mention. It was a relatively low-key affair, Sinner getting the better of Alcaraz in the last-16 in 2022 to reach a first quarter-final on the SW19 courts.
Three years later, and with Alcaraz not having tasted defeat at Wimbledon since, Sinner delivered on the biggest stage of them all. He came from a set behind to dethrone the Spaniard on Centre Court in a 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 victory.
Alcaraz was on a 20-match unbeaten Wimbledon run, eyeing a third straight title on Centre Court and with the added mental edge of five consecutive wins over Sinner. He had won all five of his previous Grand Slam finals.
There was also the lingering memory of the French Open final and that remarkable evening five weeks ago. Sinner had three championship points against Alcaraz in Paris, let them slip and fell to an agonising defeat.
Sinner, though, secured revenge at the first opportunity. He lost the first set from 4-2 up but responded superbly and on this occasion motored over the finish line for a fourth Grand Slam title and his first away from the hard courts. Had he won at Roland Garros, Sinner would now be the current champion of all four majors.
JANNIK SINNER = WIMBLEDON CHAMPION 🏆
— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 13, 2025
WHAT A MATCH 🔥#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/Kre6q7feBe
"We were talking before the match that we would never thought we would be in this position when I was young,” Sinner said.
“This was only a dream, the dream of the dream because it was so far away from where I'm from. I'm just living my dream."
The Italian cannot rival Alcaraz for popularity, his three-month doping ban earlier this year conveniently timed between the Grand Slams raising plenty of questions. His ruthless demeanour also plays a part, in stark contrast to the expressive Spaniard, but this was an evening for Sinner to land the latest blow in a rivalry that is set to shape the next decade of the sport.
He took full advantage of his fortune earlier in the tournament. Sinner was two sets down to Grigor Dimitrov in the last-16 and well on his way to defeat, only for the Bulgarian to tear a pectoral muscle when serving and be forced to retired.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, reached this final despite being below his best for significant periods of the past fortnight. He lost at least one set in five of his seven matches and those drops in level were always likely to be punished against Sinner.
The Spaniard showed both sides to his game in the first set, a loose couple of minutes seeing him give up a break and trail 4-2 before an emphatic response followed. The intensity was raised, the grunts increased with every swing of the forehand, and Alcaraz rattled off four games in a row.
The set was sealed in stunning fashion, Sinner seemingly saving set point with a huge forehand down the line but Alcaraz, almost in the splits, somehow flicked it back over.
Sinner responded immediately, breaking in the opening game of the second set. He was helped by a double fault from Alcaraz, of which there were seven in the match. The Italian then saved a break point to hold and lead 2-0, a big shout of ‘let’s go’ as animated as he had been all tournament.
Holds were exchanged and Sinner levelled the match with a remarkable game, Alcaraz left helpless in the face of a flurry of stunning winners.
After an hour-and-a-half warm-up, it was a best-of-three sets match for the Wimbledon title. Every Alcaraz service game felt like a battle, the first of the set bringing two unconverted break points for Sinner and the next two battling Alcaraz holds from 30-30.
The demeanour of both felt somewhat unexpected. Sinner, usually so calm, was animated on big points and even provided some showboating, hitting one half-volley between his legs at the net. Alcaraz, meanwhile, showed little sign of his usual flamboyance, his mood relatively reserved and at times even flat.
Sinner picked his moment to break at the perfect time, putting away a volley with Alcaraz in a heap behind the baseline to lead 5-4, and he wrapped up the set.
Two brilliant backhand winners gave Sinner the break early in the fourth. Alcaraz has been in worse positions than this against Sinner and recovered but there was little outward show of belief.
The Centre Court crowd tried to play their part, Sinner’s attempts to serve for the match at 5-4 delayed by a deafening chorus of “Carlos, Carlos, Carlos”.
As in Paris, three championship points came. It had been two years, five matches and 18 sets since his last win over Alcaraz. One final first serve put those demons to rest.
