Jannik Sinner underlined his status as the world’s best player by defeating Alexander Zverev to retain the Wimbledon men’s singles title.

The Italian overcame a stern challenge from the German second seed to win 6-7 (7-9) 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 6-4 in an enthralling contest on Centre Court that lasted three hours and 46 minutes.

Zverev arrived at the All England Club full of confidence following his maiden Grand Slam title at the French Open last month and matched Sinner stride for stride during a gripping opening set.

The German edged a high-quality tie-break to move ahead and looked capable of adding another major title to his collection.

However, Sinner responded, producing a dominant tie-break of his own in the second set before gradually taking control of the contest.

The world number one’s serve proved a key weapon throughout the afternoon as he limited Zverev to just one break point.

Sinner eventually sealed the win in four sets before collapsing to the turf in celebration after one of the longest matches of his career.

Zverev praises world’s best player

Despite the disappointment of defeat, Zverev was quick to acknowledge the level produced by his opponent.

“Jannik, I don’t really like you any more,” he joked during the trophy presentation.

“He showed once again why he is the best player in the world.”

A star-studded crowd including the Prince and Princess of Wales, alongside actors Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller, watched as Sinner secured his 10th consecutive victory over the German.

The result means Zverev will climb to second in the world rankings on Monday, moving above the injured Carlos Alcaraz.

Sinner’s latest success completes an impressive turnaround after a difficult start to the year by his lofty standards.

The 24-year-old was beaten by Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals of the Australian Open before suffering a shock second-round exit at the French Open despite arriving in Paris on a 29-match winning streak.

Following that disappointment, Sinner stepped away from competitive action and opted against playing any warm-up tournaments before Wimbledon.

Although he was pushed to five sets by Miomir Kecmanovic earlier in the tournament, Sinner grew stronger as the fortnight progressed and produced one of his finest performances to dismantle Djokovic in the semi-finals.