Jannik Sinner kisses the winners trophy after defeating Alexander Zverev in the men's singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on Sunday. (AP photo)

LONDON — Jannik Sinner is starting to make a habit of responding to adversity in Paris with titles at Wimbledon.

The top-ranked Sinner beat Alexander Zverev 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-2), 6-3, 6-4 Sunday for his second consecutive title at the All England Club after his German opponent appeared bothered by a knee issue following a slip to the grass on a key point in the third set.

A day earlier, Linda Noskova regrouped successfully to down fellow Czech Republic compatriot Karolina Muchova in three sets for the women’s singles title.

Sinner’s fifth Grand Slam title came in his first tournament since a second-round meltdown at the French Open, when he wilted in a Paris heat wave.

When Sinner ripped a forehand winner up the line on his first match point, the Italian dropped to the grass on his back in celebration.

“There’s no better place to play tennis,” Sinner said during the trophy ceremony.

A year ago, Sinner beat Carlos Alcaraz in the final at the All England Club after wasting three match points against his rival in the Roland Garros final.

It was Sinner’s 10th straight victory over Zverev, who was coming off his first Grand Slam title at the French Open.

Zverev’s previous best performance at Wimbledon was reaching the fourth round three times.

“I’m 29 years old and this is the first time I actually believe I can win this trophy,” Zverev said.

Prince William joined his wife Kate and two of their children for the final in a star-studded Royal Box that also included actors Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman and Ben Stiller.

The top two seeds appeared perfectly matched until Zverev earned his only break point of the match at 3-3 in the third set — 2 hours and 42 minutes in. Sinner produced a drop shot and Zverev slipped and appeared to hyper-extend his right knee as he attempted to change directions behind the baseline.

Zverev grasped his knee in apparent discomfort and Sinner went around the net and helped his opponent up off the grass. Zverev quickly resumed playing but he appeared slightly hampered and slung his racket across the baseline in frustration when he missed a forehand and handed Sinner the first break of the match and a 5-3 lead in the third. Sinner then served it out.

Noskova regroups

Noskova placed fingers in both of her ears to drown out the noise from the Centre Court crowd.

She draped one of Wimbledon’s strawberry-red towels over her head.

And eventually — after she had wasted five match points and a 5-2 lead and conceded the second set of a drama-filled final — she left the court completely for a bathroom break.

During Noskova’s brief time off the court, two shiny objects caught her attention: the Venus Rosewater Dish that is awarded to the women’s champion and the smaller dish for the runner-up.

“I was like, ‘I’m not going to take the small one. I’m taking the big one. I have been so close. This will probably be the heartbreak of my life,'” Noskova said. “‘I’m going to leave my soul on court in the third set, whatever that be.'”

The 21-year-old Noskova did just as she promised herself, overcoming her second-set meltdown to beat Muchova 6-2, 5-7, 6-3 in an all-Czech final for her first Grand Slam trophy on Saturday.

When Noskova finally finished it off with a service winner on her sixth match point — and first of the third set — she covered her face and dropped down to the grass on her back.

Minutes later, Noskova was being awarded the Venus Rosewater Dish by Kate, the Princess of Wales.

“It’s never easy to get the last point,” Noskova said during her victory speech. “Karo, you really made me work for it.”

Noskova became the third Czech woman in four years to win the grass-court major, after Marketa Vondrousova in 2023 and Barbora Krejcikova in 2024.

Muchova and Noskova played doubles together at the 2024 Paris Olympics and finished fourth.

“I am so glad that I could play my first Grand Slam final with you,” Noskova told Muchova during her speech. “We made history today. All our Czech fans at home are proud of us no matter the result. It was a good day for both of us.”

But it wasn’t the first time that Noskova has had to overcome adversity at Wimbledon.

Her mother died just before she played the tournament two years ago.

“I definitely would not be standing here without her, so thank you,” Noskova said in a dedication to her mother during her speech when she blew a kiss skyward.

Navratilova wiped away tears listening to Noskova’s tribute.

It was the 29-year-old Muchova’s second Grand Slam final after getting beat by Iga Swiatek at the French Open in 2023.