
Why Jannik Sinner, Iga Swiatek's Wimbledon 2025 victories were special?
Sinner had lost five matches in a row against Alcaraz with the latest one coming in the final of the French Open earlier this year in a thrilling 5 hours and 29 minutes of play. The Wimbledon triumph was perfect revenge for the Italian.
But what made Sinner's triumph special? Born in San Candido, a village in northern Italy, on the border of Austria, Sinner became the first-ever Italian - male or female - win lift the Wimbledon title. Before Sinner, two Italians came close to winning the title, but fell one match short.
While Matteo Berrettini lost to Novak Djokovic in the men's singles final at Wimbledon in 2021, Jasmine Paolini fell short in the women's singles final last year to Barbora Krejcikova.
Like Sinner, Iga Swiatek's triumph in women's singles is also special as the Polish became the first woman from her country to lift the winner's trophy. Swiatek had defeated American Amanda Anisimova 6-0, 6-0 in straight sets. For the uninitiated, Swiątek father, Tomasz had competed at the 1988 Seoul Olympics in rowing.
Already a winner of four Grand Slams (1 US Open, 4 French Open), Swiatek's beating of Anisimova meant she became the youngest woman since a 20-year-old Serena Williams in 2002 to lift major titles on all three surfaces. She also emerged as the first player since Monica Seles in 1992 to win her first six major finals. Player Grand Slams Year Nicola Pietrangeli French Open 1959 Nicola Pietrangeli French Open 1960 Adriano Panatta French Open 1976 Francesca Schiavone French Open 2010 Flavia Pennetta US Open 2015 Jannik Sinner Australian Open 2024 Jannik Sinner US Open 2024 Jannik Sinner Australian Open 2025 Jannik Sinner Wimbledon 2025 Player Grand Slams Year Iga Swiatek French Open 2020 Iga Swiatek French Open 2022 Iga Swiatek US Open 2022 Iga Swiatek French Open 2023 Iga Swiatek French Open 2024 Iga Swiatek Wimbledon 2025
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