‘Seen it all’: Wimbledon final brought to a halt as Sinner gets revenge on Alcaraz

The world number one is the first Italian to win a singles title at the All England Club and now has four grand slams to his name at the age of 23.

Just five weeks after Alcaraz staged one of the all-time great fightbacks to beat Sinner in a classic French Open final, the pair brought their battle for supremacy to Wimbledon’s hallowed Centre Court on Sunday.

Alcaraz and Sinner have shared seven of the past eight grand slams between them, evenly splitting the six on offer since the start of 2024.

The tennis world has been captivated by the emergence of the new rivalry after the storied era of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

Champagne corks interrupts Wimbledon final

There was an awkward moment early in the second set when play was interrupted just as Sinner was about to serve when a champagne cork flew onto the court. 

Spectators are allowed to carry champagne bottles into the crowd at Wimbledon and the sound of a bottle being opened shattered the silence on centre court for a brief moment.

A cork landed near the service line next to Sinner, who handed it to a ballkid, who tossed the cork over the fence, much to the bemusement of the crowd. The chair umpire said: “Ladies and gentlemen, as a courtesy to both players, please do not pop champagne corks just as the player is about to serve.”

A commentator said: “As if that should need saying.”

Todd Woodbridge said: “A little early for the celebration.”

Asked about the rogue cork in the trophy presentation, Sinner said with a grin: “No, only here are Wimbledon. But that’s exactly why we love playing here. It’s a very expensive tournament.”

Leading tennis writer Christopher Clarey wrote on X: “A Champagne cork just landed on Centre Court with Sinner preparing to serve. Now I’ve seen it all.”

Sports analyst Joe Pompliano said: “A championship match getting interrupted because someone popped a champagne cork onto the court is the most Wimbledon thing ever.”

The Roland Garros account posted: “Artists at work, please don’t pop champagne corks.

It’s not the first time that’s happened during this tournament — Amanda Anisimova said “Why are you opening it right now” when the sound of a cork popping interrupted her quarter-final.

Sinner blew a two-set lead and wasted three championship points in an epic collapse in Paris, but he held his nerve in the rematch at the All England Club.

“I would say mostly emotionally because I had a very tough loss in Paris. But it doesn’t matter how you win or lose, you just have to understand what you did wrong and try to work on it,” the 23-year-old said.

“This is what we did. This is one of the reasons I’m here holding this trophy.”

Sinner is the first Italian man to win Wimbledon, ending Alcaraz’s two-year reign as champion.

“It’s so special. We were talking before the match. We would never have thought of being in this position back in the days when I was young,” said the four-time grand slam winner.

“It was just a dream. This was so far away from where I am from.” 

Sinner said he had tried to learn from his “tough loss” on clay. “We tried to accept the loss and just kept working,” he said. 

“This is for sure one of the reasons I am holding this trophy here.

Alcaraz had no complaints about the end of his 24-match winning streak, a blistering run that brought him titles at the French Open, Rome, Monte Carlo and Queen’s Club.

“It’s difficult to lose but first of all I have to congratulate Jannik. It is a really well deserved trophy. He was playing great tennis,” the world number two said.

“Really happy to be able to build a really good relationship with him off the court and a great rivalry on the court.” Alcaraz, a five-time grand slam champion, was beaten in a major final for the first time, but he had no regrets after falling short of a third successive Wimbledon crown.

“Really proud of everything I’m doing. At the beginning of the season I struggled a bit and then suddenly I started to bring joy to the court again,” he said.

“Wimbledon is one of the most beautiful tournaments that we have on tour. I feel at home every time that I come here.

“It is such a beautiful court. The atmosphere is insane. It’s a great journey so far. I just want to keep it going.”

Drugs cloud hangs over Wimbledon champs

Both Wimbledon singles champions, Sinner and Iga Swiatek, have bounced back to top form after serving doping bans during the past year.

Sinner defended his Australian Open title in Melbourne in January but his career was put on hold after that as he served a three-month ban for twice testing positive for banned anabolic steroid clostebol last year.

Sinner has always maintained the product entered his system unintentionally through a massage from his physiotherapist, who had used a spray containing it to treat a cut.

“I am just so grateful that I am healthy and have great people around me, and holding this trophy means a lot.” 

The World Anti-Doping Agency said “Sinner did not intend to cheat” but that he would serve his suspension as he is responsible for the actions of his entourage.

Sinner returned to the court in May, reaching the final of the Italian Open, where he was beaten by Alcaraz.

The women’s Wimbledon singles champion Iga Swiatek, tested positive for banned heart medication Trimetazidine (TMZ) in out-of-competition anti-doping test. 

Swiatek failed a drugs test in August 2024 and “accepted a one-month suspension” from competition, according to the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA).

Both Wimbledon champions having undergone out-of-competition doping bans draw the ire of some tennis fans, while Nick Kyrgios had a cryptic post after the tournament wrapped up. 

A quick glance at the replies to his post captured the negative mood among some tennis fans towards the Wimbledon singles champions.

Tennis podcaster Chris Goldsmith said: “It sure has been a ‘dope’ Wimbledon this year as the young tennis fans would say..........”

Tennis blogger Pavvy G posted: “Iga Swiatek and Jannik Sinner will be the two most unpopular players to win @Wimbledon ever. 

“Both should have been suspended this year after failing drugs tests for performance enhancing drugs. A sad and dark weekend for tennis.” 

One fan wrote on X: “It’s so funny how they banned Russians and Belarusians from wimbledon for a year despite them not doing anything wrong but they don’t ban two players caught for doping and now Wimbledon 2025 is won by the two dopers lol.”

Swiatek had a pointed message to her critics after thrashing Amanda Anisimova 6-0 6-0 in 57 minutes to win her sixth grand slam title. 

“For sure the past months, how the media sometimes describe me, and I got to say unfortunately Polish media, how they treated me and my team, it wasn’t really pleasant,” Swiatek said in her victory speech.

“I hope they will just leave me alone and let me do my job because obviously you can see that we know what we are doing, and I have the best people around me. I have already proved a lot. I know people want more and more, but it’s my own process and my own life and my own career.

“Hopefully I’m going to have a freedom from them, as well, to let me do my job the way I want it.”