Sinner seeks to resume dominance at Wimbledon after Paris shock

For the past two years, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz have stood a class above the rest at the top of men's tennis.

And so, once his rival and good friend succumbed to a wrist injury in April, world number one Sinner appeared almost entirely untouchable.

But Sinner would fall victim to one of the biggest shocks at a major in recent years at the French Open, exiting in the second round despite leading Argentine Juan Manuel Cerundolo by two sets and 5-1 in the third.

That collapse ended a 30-match winning streak for the Italian, as well as his bid to become the second-youngest man to complete the career Grand Slam - winning all four major titles - after Alcaraz achieved that in Australia in January.

Sinner said he did not believe the stifling Paris heat that day was to blame but, after appearing to physically shut down in that match at Roland Garros one month ago, the 24-year-old has been pictured wearing an ice vest while training in hot temperatures at Wimbledon.

Speaking on Saturday, two days before he starts his title defence at the All England Club against Miomir Kecmanovic, Sinner said results from a series of health tests he had after the French Open were "very good", but added there would not be an instant solution to avoiding future problems.

"You cannot simulate 100% what you feel in a match because of tension [and] everything going around before and after the match," he said.

"We did some changes, not big changes. But I always believe in small details and small changes.

"We are happy at the moment with what we are doing. The result, we're not going to see here. It's a long process. There's no magic behind [it]."

Despite the manner of his loss in Paris, and not competing since, Sinner will begin as the overwhelming favourite to win Wimbledon again, having overpowered Alcaraz in four sets in the final last year.

While he undoubtedly has the ability, he has also proved he has the mentality to respond to his unexpected setback.

His childhood coach, Andreas Schonegger, told BBC Sport: "At the end of every lesson, first he didn't want to stop, he wanted to continue.

"He tells me OK now, I wait for my dad, but I continue one hour more, I want to play one more hour. [At] four years [old], that's an incredible mind, incredible.

"It is not normal for children this age."

Sinner dominated the ATP Tour for the first five months of this year, with his 30-match win streak between March and May delivering five consecutive Masters 1000 titles on hard and clay courts.

With that, he joined men's record 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic as only the second man to complete the Career Golden Masters - completing the full set of nine Masters 1000 events, the tier below the sport's majors.

Sinner has proved he is able to assert his style of play, founded on tour-leading serving and returning statistics, and putting opponents under immense pressure with aggressive baseline striking, across all surfaces.

Last year, Sinner defied statistical records by becoming the first player to lead the tour in both service games (92%) and return games won (32.6%) in a single season.

He currently leads both metrics this year too.

On grass, Sinner has won 29 of the 39 tour-level matches he has contested - almost 75% - and has reached at least the quarter-finals on each of his past four visits to Wimbledon.

He was twice stopped by Djokovic, in 2022 and 2023, before losing a five-set thriller to Daniil Medvedev prior to his triumph in 2025.

Sinner has won 10 of his 14 meetings with French Open winner Alexander Zverev, his projected final opponent as the second seed at Wimbledon in Alcaraz's absence - although the pair have never met on grass.

He dominates the head-to-head against this year's top six seeds and it is seventh seed Djokovic, a possible semi-final opponent, and eighth seed Medvedev, in Sinner's quarter, who appear best-placed to cause him problems.

Djokovic trails their head-to-head 6-5 but has won two of their three meetings on grass, while Medvedev has seven wins in 17 meetings with Sinner and won their only previous match on grass at Wimbledon two years ago.

Mentally, Sinner had to bounce back from a much greater emotional blow before going on to triumph last year at Wimbledon.

There, he banished the demons of his devastating French Open final loss to Alcaraz, in which he led by two sets and held three championship points, but lost the longest Roland Garros final in history.

He would exact his revenge against Alcaraz on Centre Court, losing the first set but ruthlessly dismantling his rival to win his first title at SW19.

But after losing to Alcaraz in the US Open final last September, Sinner admitted he needed to adapt his game to become more versatile and unpredictable.

That dedication to continuous improvement is recognised by his fellow players - and one of the key reasons why he will remain at the top for a long time to come.

"He raised the level so high and he's always constantly finding solutions to get better. This is something that is not easy to find, especially when you're at that level," said compatriot Matteo Berrettini.

"To change his game - his serve, use drop shots a bit more, change a few things that make him more unpredictable - this shows his level of mindset and I think that's one of his strengths."