The defeat in the French Open 2025 final will take a long time for Jannik Sinner to digest. It may even leave him with the lifelong pain of losing that final. After enduring arguably toughest nights of his life on a tennis court just over a month ago at Roland Garros, Sinner, the World No. 1, has finally turned the tables at the Wimbledon - demonstrating his tremendous grit and never-give-up mindset even when he was a set down - to clinch his first-ever Wimbledon title with a mind-boggling performance.

Sinner, the runner-up at the French Open, not only denied two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz a hat-trick on the hollowed grass court of Wimbledon but also avenged his defeat in the last Grand Slam final with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win.

With this victory, he brought to an end Alcaraz's run of five consecutive wins against him, adding a new dimension to their young rivalry - one that is poised to determine the future of men's singles in the foreseeable future.

In their personal Grand Slam race, Sinner has kept himself within touching distance of Alcaraz’s five Majors, taking his own tally to four, having defended his Australian Open title in January and won the US Open in 2024. This also marked his first Grand Slam title away from hard courts.

But a month ago, things looked bleak for Sinner as he stood hopelessly on the Roland Garros court - his first Grand Slam since serving a three-month doping ban - enduring the pain of watching World No. 2 Alcaraz lift his second consecutive French Open title. Sinner took a two-set lead and then held three championship points but could not close the deal. And when it seemed the match was on his racket in the fourth set, he lost one of the greatest Grand Slam finals in history, as Alcaraz staged a heroic comeback to snatch the title.

That had become the trend in almost all Sinner versus Alcaraz matches - every time the Italian played his best tennis, Alcaraz rose even higher, always just beyond his grasp. And on Sunday, that appeared to be happening again, with Alcaraz cruising through the first set and most believing a hat-trick was inevitable for the Spaniard.

But it was not Alcaraz’s day. Sinner demonstrated the lessons he had learned and flipped the pattern on its head. This time, starting with that seemingly innocuous missed forehand by Alcaraz, it was Sinner who lifted his game to a higher level - and kept it there.

In their three-hour battle on Centre Court, Sinner showed his toughness. After the frustrating loss in the first set, he played his best tennis in the decisive moments. In the second set, Sinner was brilliant - holding at 5-4 with a running backhand pass, a forehand that skidded off the sideline for a winner, and a crosscourt forehand winner at set point. All three times, Alcaraz hit a shot that normally would have won him the point - only to see Sinner take it away.

In the third set, Sinner served brilliantly under pressure and maintained his relentless aggression, neutralising the Spaniard with constant pressure. Deep in the fourth set, as Alcaraz finally looked rattled, Sinner held firm.

Sinner did not lose his tempo, and he was the one who broke early in the fourth set - altering the story of Roland Garros last month. He never gave the lead back. He saved two break points at 4-3 and did not show a hint of nerves serving it out at 5-4, finally breaking his long wait for a Wimbledon title with a 225 kmph serve - the fastest of the day.

He rose to Wimbledon's hallowed balcony, finally realising his dream, waving to the crowd and sharing the most precious moment of his life with his parents, Siglinde and Hanspeter, and brother Marc Sinner.

Sinner's title came despite doubts about his continuity in the tournament after hurting his elbow and trailing by two sets against Grigor Dimitrov before the Bulgarian was forced to retire in the fourth round. But since then, Sinner performed a notch higher than his opponents, taking down Novak Djokovic in the semifinal and finally Alcaraz in the final - living his dream.