Sinner reaches the Wimbledon final and faces Zverev

On the other side of the draw, Alexander Zverev had defeated British wild card player Arthur Fery 7:6 (7:0), 6:2, 6:4 on Friday, reaching a Wimbledon final for the first time. The match lasted around two and a half hours. Fery, 23 years old and ranked 114th in the world, had advanced to the semifinal as an unseeded outsider.

Zverev reaches a Wimbledon final for the first time

Facing the crowd afterward, Zverev expressed his gratitude. „99,999 percent wanted Arthur to win. But it was a great atmosphere, a fair crowd, I enjoyed every second," said the Hamburg native after his run to the final. Regarding the significance of the moment, he added: „and suddenly I'm in the Wimbledon final. I am incredibly happy and proud."

Zverev was born in Hamburg and has long been a fixture on the world tennis stage. Last year, he won his first Grand Slam title at the French Open. A win at Wimbledon would give him his second major title. Sunday's final is also a rematch of the Australian Open final from early 2025, which Sinner had won in three sets.

Becker sees a chance for Zverev

From a German perspective, Wimbledon holds a special history. In the Professional Era since 1968, a German player has won the men's singles title only three times: Boris Becker in 1985, 1986, and 1989, and Michael Stich in 1991. Becker, once a sharp critic of Zverev's, also spoke out before the semifinal and called it a huge opportunity for the Hamburg native: „Das ist die Chance seines Lebens, und das meine ich im Ernst, Wimbledon zu gewinnen."

The defeat also ended Djokovic's dream of a historic 25th Grand Slam title. The Serb had already won Wimbledon seven times and holds the record with 24 major titles. In the previous round, he had played a marathon match against the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime lasting more than five hours, which visibly took a toll on him. At the Australian Open in January, Djokovic had already battled past Sinner in a four-hour semifinal – this time, the Italian turned the tables.

Clash of the two top-seeded players

Sinner enters the final as the clear favorite. He has won the last nine head-to-head meetings against Zverev, including the Melbourne final in January. In addition, the South Tyrolean is the world number one and the defending champion at Wimbledon. Carlos Alcaraz, last year's final opponent of Sinner, is absent due to injury.

The final will be played on Sunday at 5:00 p.m. local time and will be broadcast in Germany by Prime Video, among others. In Switzerland, SRF will also provide live coverage. It is the first Wimbledon final between Sinner and Zverev and the first all-European major final of the season.

A historic Wimbledon final for Germany?

Zverev had lost his previous three Grand Slam finals in a row, most recently at the 2025 Australian Open against Sinner. Looking ahead to his upcoming opponent, he said: „Es ist erstaunlich. Dieser Grand Slam war immer das, mit dem ich am meisten gekämpft habe." Incidentally, the last wild card player to reach a Wimbledon final before him was Goran Ivanisevic in 2001.

From the Italian's perspective, the semifinal between Sinner and Djokovic was extremely commanding. He did not drop a set in any of the three sets and controlled proceedings with precise groundstrokes. Djokovic, visibly worn down by the ordeal against Auger-Aliassime, rarely found an answer to the world number one's high-pressure game.

Outlook for Sunday's final

The grass at Wimbledon was once again in excellent condition on Friday, favoring quick rallies and the occasional tiebreak. For Zverev, however, the first set against Fery was tight: he only managed to pull through 7:0 in the tiebreak before clearly taking control in the second and third sets.

Overall, Sunday's final features the two best players on the seedings list. Sinner and Zverev occupy the top two seedings of the tournament, underlining the quality of the final. The winner receives not only the title, but also prize money in the millions and 2,000 ATP ranking points.

For German tennis, a title for Zverev would be a historic moment. After Becker and Stich, he would be the third German Wimbledon champion of the Open Era. Boris Becker, who had repeatedly offered critical words to his protégés in the past, has now clearly thrown his support behind Zverev.

The final also promises tactically intriguing contrasts: Sinner's high-pressure baseline game and calm demeanor meet Zverev's serving power and varied play. Both players have plenty of experience on grass, even though Wimbledon has so far been the most difficult of the four major surfaces for Zverev.

Looking ahead to the coming hours, recovery will likely play a key role. Djokovic had spent more than five hours on court in the quarterfinals, while Sinner and Zverev each played less than three hours in their semifinals. This freshness advantage could prove decisive in the final.