LONDON, UK — In a thrilling match on Sunday, Jannik Sinner overcame the defending champion Carlos Alcaraz with scores of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to claim his first Wimbledon title, turning around the outcome of their intense French Open final from five weeks earlier.

Currently ranked No. 1, Sinner secured his fourth Grand Slam victory, inching closer to No. 2 Alcaraz, who has one more Grand Slam title. The two young stars are pulling ahead of others in the men’s tennis rankings.

This victory also allowed Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, to put an end to several streaks for Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard.

Alcaraz had previously won all five of their recent encounters, including their last epic showdown of almost 5 1/2 hours during the Roland-Garros finals on June 8. In that match, Sinner initially led by two sets and had three match points but failed to secure the win, extending Alcaraz’s unbeaten streak in major finals to 5-0.

In addition to ending that piece of perfection, Sinner asserted himself in a match that featured moments of terrific play by both men, but also the occasional lapses.

Alcaraz stepped into the sunlight bathing Centre Court as the owner of a career-best 24-match unbeaten run. He had won 20 matches in a row at the All England Club, including victories against Novak Djokovic in the 2023 and 2024 finals.

The last man to beat Alcaraz at Wimbledon? Sinner, in the fourth round in 2022.

So this served as a bookend win for Sinner, who proved what he kept telling anyone who asked: No, there would be no carryover from his heartbreak in Paris. Hard to imagine, though, that that collapse wasn’t on his mind at least a little on Sunday, especially when he faced two break points while serving at 4-3, 15-40 in the fourth set.

But he calmly took the next four points to hold there, and soon was serving out the win. When it ended, Sinner put both hands on his white hat. After embracing Alcaraz at the net, Sinner crouched on court with his head bowed, then pounded his right palm on the grass.

Yes, Sinner put the French Open behind him in the best way possible and demonstrated that his matchups with Alcaraz could delight tennis fans for years to come.

They have divvied up the past seven Grand Slam trophies, and nine of the last 12.

Fittingly, this marked the first time the same two men faced off in the title matches on the clay at Roland-Garros and the grass at the All England Club in the same year since Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal did it in 2006, 2007 and 2008. It hadn’t happened for more than a half-century before that trilogy.

Sinner has participated in each of the last four major finals, a stretch that began with a triumph at the U.S. Open last September and was followed by another at the Australian Open this January.

Wearing the same tape job and white arm sleeve to protect his right elbow that he has been using since falling in the opening game of his fourth-round win on Monday, Sinner never showed any issues, just as he had not while eliminating 24-time major champion Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.

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