Jannik Sinner of Italy celebrates after winning a point against Alexander Zverev of Germany men's singles final at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Sunday, July 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)Jannik Sinner successfully defended his Wimbledon crown when he defeated Alexander Zverev in the men’s singles final on Sunday. Zverev won the first set on tie breaker 7-6(7) before Sinner roared back, taking the second set 7-6(2) as well as the third set 6-3. Sinner ultimately took the 4th set with a 6-4 score line, winning the match and retaining his title.The top-ranked Sinner was looking to bounce back from his meltdown at Roland Garros and claim his fifth Grand Slam title. Zverev, who is ranked third but seeded second, was attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since 1968) to win his second major title at the next event immediately after his first.Sinner had won his last nine meetings with Zverev and 14 straight sets against the German. Sinner was eliminated in stunning fashion in the second round of the French Open, when he wilted in a Paris heat wave. Zverev’s previous best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round three times.On Friday, Sinner had ended Novak Djokovic’s latest bid to claim a record 25th Grand Slam title in ruthless fashion with a 6-4 6-4 6-4 win. The searing temperatures of previous days dipped for the day’s semi-finals but Sinner turned up the heat on the 39-year-old Djokovic who barely laid a glove on the Italian.On the same day, second seed Zverev put an end to the tournament’s most unexpected storyline as he snuffed out the dream run of British wildcard Arthur Fery with a dominant 7-6(0) 6-2 6-4 win to become the first German to reach the men’s singles final since Boris Becker in 1995.For Djokovic it was a fifth loss in his last six Grand Slam semi-finals and the clock is ticking for the Serb and his hopes of moving ahead of Margaret Court on the all-time list for most major titles in the history of the sport.The Centre Court crowd, who were not always Djokovic’s firmest fans when he battled Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal for supremacy, joined in chants of “Nole, Nole” throughout the match and willed him to make a fight of it.Story continues below this adBut Sinner was just too good, serving 16 aces and conceding just six points on his first serve.After Djokovic left the famous arena to loud applause, Sinner paid tribute to a player who still remains better than virtually every player in the world.