Wimbledon men's final: Jannik Sinner repeats as champion after weathering early challenge from Alexander Zverev

Jannik Sinner experienced a different Alexander Zverev in the 2026 Wimbledon men's final. He delivered the same result as their previous nine meetings.

Facing an opponent playing some of the best tennis of a decorated career, Sinner held steady on his way to a 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4 win to repeat as Wimbledon champion. It is the fifth Grand Slam title of his career.

The field was open for Sinner with the absence of Carlos Alcaraz, whom the Italian beat in last year's Wimbledon final. However, he entered following disappointments in the previous two major championships, when he was upset by Novak Djokovic in the Australian Open semifinal then cramped his way out of Roland-Garros.

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For a player who is usually unflappable when the weather agrees with him, it was an odd run, especially with him making history by winning all five Masters 1000 titles between March and May. This tournament got off to a shaky start as well, with Sinner having to survive in five sets against Miomir Kecmanović with his foot bleeding through his shoe.

Sinner proceeded to win every subsequent match up to Sunday in straight sets, which included a masterclass against Djokovic to avenge what happened in Melbourne. He again displayed a high level in the final, and he most certainly needed it.

Alexander Zverev challenged Jannik Sinner early

It was Sinner's 10th straight win over Zverev, and he continued some remarkable streaks. Zverev hasn't broken him in their past seven matches together, a span of time that includes 87 straight service holds. It is a remarkable level of dominance against a player who, when everyone is healthy, is the easy pick for third-best in the world.

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And yet, no one can say Zverev didn't do what he needed to do on Sunday, at least at first.

The basic breakdown of Zverev's game is something like this: At 6-foot-6, he is one of the hardest servers in the sport and can rack up easy points. At the same time, he is a top counter-puncher who will grind nearly any player out whenever they get into a neutral rally. It is usually an effective combination, but it has proven ineffective against Sinner and Alcaraz, who are mobile enough and such good ball-strikers that they can overwhelm Zverev in spots where he's usually comfortable.

With Zverev's forehand shaky compared to his elite backhand, it is usually a major liability against Sinner, who is capable of blowing players away from both wings. Zverev was almost never aggressive enough with the shot to get Sinner out of his rhythm in their last several meetings.

That was different on Sunday. Both men served at an absurdly high level, but what stood out in the first two sets was Sinner's willingness to let it fly from his forehand, even when in neutral. It led to unforced errors, 45 for Zverev compared to Sinner's 25, but it also won him points he usually loses against the Italian.

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With Zverev also bombing his serves, sitting above 130 mph on his first while getting 76% of them in, he had Sinner on even footing.

There was one break point total in the first two sets, both of which went to tiebreaks. Zverev won the first, and it was at that point he was truly looking like a new player.

Sinner is Sinner for a reason, though. He kept pushing Zverev around with a serve that gets more lethal with every year on tour, then jumped him in the second tiebreak to even the match.

It was around that point that Sinner started figuring out what to do with Zverev's serve. He had to go on pure reflexes against the first, but he was able to consistently force rallies by moving deeper behind the baseline on the German's also-powerful second.

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Jannik Sinner took control in third set, after apparent injury to Alexander Zverev

It took Zverev two-and-a-half sets to get his first break point, and that wound up being the turning point. Against him.

The point saw Sinner get an easy ball at the net, which he turned into a surprise drop shot. Zverev lunged forward, then slipped and fell clutching his knee in clear pain.

Sinner quickly crossed the net to help his opponent up in a nice display of sportsmanship. He then buried Zverev, finishing off the game then breaking him. Zverev opted to play on and didn't look too hobbled for the rest of the match, but those big forehands weren't there anymore.

With a similar state of play in the fourth set, the match was Sinner's to lose, as long as he avoided the dreaded three-hour-and-50 minute mark, after which he famously has an 0-9 record.

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He finished off Zverev in a tidy three hours and 47 minutes.

For all of Zverev's changes, the stats worked out to a fairly standard showing from Sinner: 58 winners to 25 unforced errors; 70 of 87 (80%) first serve points won; 32 of 49 (75%) second serve points won.

There was no changing that part of Sinner's game. One can only wonder if anyone can until Alcaraz is back.

Follow along with Yahoo Sports for the latest from the Wimbledon men's singles final.

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