Jannik Sinner defended his Wimbledon title on Sunday, defeating Alexander Zverev 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4 in the men’s singles final on Centre Court.

The victory gave the 24-year-old Italian his fifth Grand Slam singles title and made him the 10th player in the Open Era to successfully defend the Wimbledon men’s singles championship. Zverev, 29, was attempting to add the Wimbledon title to the Roland Garros crown he won last month.

The opening set was decided by a dramatic tiebreak that Zverev edged 11-9. Sinner responded by taking the second-set tiebreak before raising his level over the final two sets, breaking serve once in each to close out the match in three hours and 46 minutes. Remarkably, Sinner faced just one break point all afternoon and saved it.

Sinner won 80 percent of his first-serve points and 65 percent of his second-serve points. He struck 58 winners against 25 unforced errors, won 78 percent of his net points, and converted two of five break points. Zverev fired 17 aces and 49 winners but was unable to convert his only break-point opportunity while committing 45 unforced errors.

Sinner said the title reflected the progress he made over the course of the fortnight.

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“I have improved throughout the whole tournament. If you see the performance from the first two, three matches, then how I ended the tournament, it has been always growing. That’s exactly what I needed. I was looking for this improvement, a player improvement, from my side. We made it happen.”

He also credited his return game, particularly in the biggest moments.

“I always think it’s easier to return if you know mentally that you can hold serve, so you are a little bit freer to return as good as you can. In the same time, against Sascha, when he’s serving like this, he’s really, really tough to break, especially on a surface like this.”

Asked what it meant to lift the trophy again, Sinner said:

“I don’t think it’s relief, to be honest. You just want to enjoy it. Today was a very tough day. If I lose, it’s still a great day. Playing a Grand Slam final, it’s so rare and so special.”

Zverev said he was pleased with the level he produced despite the loss.

“Yeah, I think overall, compared to where I was last year, it’s obviously a very different championship for me. Yeah, of course I would have loved to lift the trophy, but he was better than me today, and he deserves to win.”

The German also believes he is moving closer to the sport’s top players.

“I hope so. That’s what I’m here to do. Again, I think this year, as I said, has been a progress. I think I’ve been pushing those guys. I haven’t beaten them this year, but I’ve pushed them to the limits, I would say.”

Looking ahead, Zverev said he plans to stay the course.

“Same thing. Continue doing the same thing. Continue working on the things I’ve been working on from the beginning of the year. Continue this path. I think, yeah, just continue doing the same thing.”