Recap as Sinner denies Zverev back-to-back Slam titles with a four-set victory.The Athletic Live TeamJuly 13, 2026 at 10:40 AM EDTJannik Sinner has defended his men's singles title at Wimbledon after beating Alexander Zverev. Getty ImagesWimbledon 2026 men's final — reactionJannik Sinner (1) defended his Wimbledon men's singles title after beating Alexander Zverev (2).Sinner triumphed 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4 in a tight encounter on Centre Court, taking control towards the end of the third set.It is Sinner's fifth Grand Slam title and his first of 2026 as the world No. 1 sealed a second title in as many years at the All England Club.Join the ‘Discuss’ tab or email us your reaction: live@theathletic.comListen to The Tennis Podcast and watch their live streams here Getty ImagesOur live coverage of this men's final has drawn to a close. We'll leave you with a shot of what that victory means one Jannik Sinner fan — tears of joy while watching it unfold on the big screen at Wimbledon!What about Sinner’s tennis this fortnight evades stats? Getty ImagesThroughout his title defense, Sinner’s serve had been a marvel. It has scared the lines, released pressure and frustrated opponents, making them feel like they have to be perfect against him to get into a match. Just as Zverev made Sinner feel during the first part of the final.At times recently, Sinner’s baseline game has been off-kilter. Not eye-catchingly misfiring. Not going wrong in a way easily visible in one or two statistics. Just not quite there, in terms of timing and power.That continued today, as Zverev bullied Sinner on the forehand side, ripping the ball against the world No. 1 as Sinner and Alcaraz have so often done to Zverev. When Sinner missed a couple of forehands as he served to stay in the second set, down 5-4, it looked as though the shakiness with it throughout the tournament might finally be about to catch up with him. In the tiebreak though, Zverev reverted to overspinning errors as Sinner found his groove. The defending champion refused to back off in a forehand-to-forehand exchange and eventually drew an error from his opponent to lead it 2-0. An inside-out forehand on the next point set up an easy smash, before a brilliant forehand return off a 129 mph Zverev serve, followed by a forehand winner down the line, then earned Sinner four set points at 6-2.It really was the perfect time for the shot to finally click at this year’s Wimbledon.Why was Sinner walking all over the back of Centre Court? Getty ImagesFor a while in the first and second sets, it looked like Sinner was trying to do a tour of every blade of Centre Court grass behind the baselines. He would stand in. He would stand back. He would stand wide. He would alternate from point to point.All that moving around just showed how effective Zverev’s serve was. For most of his career, Zverev hadn’t been able to find that speed in bigger matches. He would miss targets and then roll in second serves. Sunday, he was zoning. Zverev served at 83 percent in the second set. Heading into the tiebreak he was winning 70 percent of his first-serve points — and not without Sinner doing everything he could to get purchase on the ball.He went into Medvedev-shire, the deep return position adopted by Daniil Medvedev, inherited from the likes of Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem. When he went back, he went way back, almost into the crowd.On five points he was more than four meters behind the baseline. He won only one of them. But in the tiebreak, Sinner stayed in the same spot — tight to the baseline. Zverev’s serve is one of the biggest in the sport, but he doesn’t scare the lines like Sinner does at the best of times and in pressure moments, he will aim to the center of the box or wide, but not right in the corners.Sinner knew that, and he started to middle his returns just when he needed to be at his best.In the tiebreak, the world No. 1 hit five returns, all of them from less than two meters behind the baseline. He won four points out of five, and when it was over, the match was even.How did Sinner and Zverev respond to pressure closing in?As the match moved to a fourth set and the clock ticked past 7 p.m. BST, time became a factor in a couple of different ways, one new, and one old. With a 4 p.m. start time, a possible roof closure loomed. The tournament had closed the roof at 7:40 p.m. during Djokovic’s quarterfinal against Félix Auger-Aliassime. The first three sets Sunday lasted three hours and 35 games.Both players are exceptional indoors, so it’s not clear who would gain the edge, but no one wants to end a match in a different setting than the one they started in.The second factor was the number everyone in tennis seems to know: Sinner has never won a match longer than three hours and 50 minutes. But it was Zverev who appeared to feel the pressure of a deadline more.In the early stages of the fourth, he started lacing forehands again. The intention was clear: If he was going to go down, Zverev was going to do so fighting.Zverev’s backhand down the line was starting to fire as well here, and if Sinner was going to get the job done before the closure of the roof, he was going to have to raise his level.Sinner did just that, winning an outstanding point in the seventh game of the set with a brilliant lob and rock-solid volley combo to move up 0-15 on the way to breaking serve for a 4-3 lead as Zverev's attack felt increasingly high-wire.A deep return from Sinner pushed Zverev back, and a forehand winner propelled him toward victory.How did a slip cause a momentum shift in the third set? Getty ImagesThe first real momentum swing of the match happened in the seventh game of the third set, with Zverev holding break point. He slipped attempting to recover a drop shot and appeared to hyperextend his right knee. He stayed on the ground for a few moments clutching his leg into his chest, and as Sinner walked over to check on him, Zverev stood, tested his knee and walked to the baseline.But he didn’t seem quite right after. While it wasn’t immediately obvious that his running or movement during rallies was affected, he appeared hesitant to put full pressure on his right knee.That affected his backhand, which he couldn’t step into fully, and more obviously, his service motion. Zverev couldn’t push off of his foot normally and as a result, couldn’t extend as he usually does on his serve.Serving at 40-40, 3-4, he coaxed an error from Sinner to earn a game point. Then he double-faulted on the ad side, unable to fully extend into hitting a flat serve wide, and hit a forehand out by just a hair to give Sinner a break point.Again, Zverev couldn't fully extend into a wide serve, and Sinner got the ball back in play.It was Sinner who slipped mid-point this time, but the Italian recovered to force another long forehand out of Zverev to earn the break. Zverev tossed his racket to the back of the court when he finally gave up the game.How did Zverev make good mistakes to win the first set?Zverev and everyone else knew that it was likely going to take perfect tennis to challenge Sinner. The problem? It is almost impossible to play perfect tennis against the world No. 1, especially when he is on his game.Through the first set, Sinner wasn’t quite on his game, and Zverev still played just about the best tennis he possibly could against an opponent of Sinner’s caliber.And, most importantly, he missed his forehand. A lot. He made 10 unforced errors on that wing — and that was part of his strategy, trying to force the issue and keep Sinner on defense, to open the court to hit winners. Through the opening set, Zverev had 15 unforced errors against seven for Sinner, but Sinner had 20 forced errors against six for Zverev. So often in their head-to-head, Sinner has been the aggressor and Zverev the backboard. For over an hour on Centre Court, the dynamic flipped.And in the tiebreak, when Sinner so often puts the hammer down and forces opponents into errors, Zverev played arguably his best tennis of the set. And perhaps most importantly, he kept smacking his forehand, especially on set point, when he nailed a ball down the line to take the set and let out a roar.He started the tiebreak with 10 forehand errors, and was still on the same number when he took the set, 16 points later.Decoding what happened in the finalThe No. 1 seed prevailed over the No. 2 seed in a tight, staccato match, ultimately decided by Zverev’s bravery on his forehand, both players’ serving and a costly fall late in the third set.It is Sinner’s second consecutive Wimbledon title and his fifth Grand Slam singles title. The defeat scuppers Zverev’s attempt to win the Channel Slam (the French Open and Wimbledon in the same season), but his run to the final sees him overtake Carlos Alcaraz as world No. 2.Below, The Athletic’s writers, Ava Wallace, Charlie Eccleshare and Matt Futterman, analyze the final and what it means for tennis.Sinner joins good company Getty ImagesSinner becomes the tenth man to defend his title here at Wimbledon in the Open Era. He joins illustrious names like Roger Federer and Björn Borg.A landmark win Getty ImagesThat marks 100 Grand Slam match wins for Jannik Sinner, which for 24 years old is not a bad record at all!Among the players to do so faster are Pete Sampras, Björn Borg and Rafael Nadal but the list is not long. Getty ImagesI always enjoy when players climb into the crowd to reach their box and celebrate with their team after winning the title.Sinner said in his on-court interview that he noticed his mum had to leave the stadium a few times because she found it too hard to watch the whole match.A moment every kid dreams about... Getty ImagesSinner greets fans as the newly crowned Wimbledon champion (again!) by lifting the trophy on the Centre Court balcony facing the grounds.A lovely moment!Your thoughts on that win for SinnerHow do you view that Wimbledon win for Jannik Sinner? Here are a few comments from our discussion tab:S: Sinner finally found his forehand. Congratulations to him on the win.Linda S.: Wonder when Carlos Alcaraz is returning and how he will manage to compete against Sinner and Zverev again. Alcaraz has no on court experience since Barcelona.M52: Knee injury changed the whole flow of the match.Join the conversation on the tab above or by contacting us at live@theathletic.comSinner: ‘Very happy about the level we both played’And here's more from Jannik Sinner on what he called an “amazing” Wimbledon final. 💬 “We both started off very well, serving very fast. “We prepared in the best possible way, me and my team, so I have to thank obviously the whole team, the support I get from the whole box. “My mom, she left the stadium a couple of times. Being a player, it's not easy. But at the same time it has been an amazing final once again. “Me and Sascha, we tried to give everything we have. I'm happy of course about the win but I'm also very happy about the level we both played. “There's no better place, honestly, to play tennis.”Listen in to The Tennis Podcast! The AthleticThe Tennis Podcast — the brilliant pod featuring Catherine Whitaker, Matt Roberts and David Law now under The Athletic's podcast stable — are live right now from Wimbledon.You can access their live stream on YouTube via the below link or by clicking here.Sinner: ‘Very sure’ Zverev will win Wimbledon one dayHere's Jannik Sinner, speaking on Centre Court after getting his hands on the Wimbledon for the second time. 💬 “Sascha, I would like to start with you and your whole team and your family. “You reached one of your main goals in winning Grand Slams... If you play like this, I'm very, very sure you're going to have this one at home as well. “Amazing, keep going. I know the goal for you is to become No. 1 in the world — you're very, very close.”A top-quality final Getty ImagesZverev has not beaten Sinner in his last ten matches but that was a great contest that came down to the finest of margins. Resilience, fight and courage were needed from both players in this epic contest. Getty ImagesGreat respect between the two players who pose with their trophies. A top contest.Zverev: ‘An amazing two months’ Getty ImagesZverev then praised his own team after a period in which he won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open and reached another major final at Wimbledon. 💬 “To my team, we had a pretty good two months I would say, even though we lost this final. An amazing two months. “We came into Wimbledon never reaching the quarterfinals and we've played our first Wimbledon final. “At 29 years old, this is the first time that I believe I can actually win this trophy, so thanks to you.”He went on to say how special it is to play in front of the Royal Box and with the royal family in attendance. 💬 “It's the most unique court in the entire world. It's a massive honor to play on this court, it's as simple as that.”Did that dramatic fall affect Zverev? Getty ImagesIt will be interesting to hear what Alexander Zverev says about his slip at 3-3 in the third set.He looked in pain as he went down on the grass, grimacing and clutching his right knee before being helped back up by Sinner. It didn't obviously appear to affect the German's movement but he lost his foothold in the match from that point.