Jannik Sinner said he was "living the dream" after clinching his first Wimbledon title with victory over Carlos Alcaraz in Sunday's final.
Sinner, who has now won four grand slam titles, earned a 4-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 win over two-time defending champion Alcaraz on Centre Court with a sensational display.
The 23-year-old became the first Italian to win the grass-court major, as well as becoming the first player from his country to claim a men's or women's singles title on multiple surfaces at grand slam events.
He is the first player born since 1990 to defeat multiple reigning men's singles champions at grand slam events, while at 23 years and 318 days old, he is also the youngest to achieve the feat since Novak Djokovic (23y 240d) in 2011.
Sinner's victory saw him avenge his French Open final defeat to Alcaraz last month, a match that saw the world number one lead by two sets and squander three championship points as he lost out in the five-set epic.
Along with his first title in SW19, Sinner will become an honorary member of the All England Club, something he said was beyond his wildest imagination.
"It sounds amazing. I hope my career is a little bit longer, and after I can come back here! It is amazing to be in this position," Sinner said in his on-court interview.
"We were talking before the match that we never thought we would be in this position when I was young.
"This was only a dream, the dream of the dream... because it was so far away from where I'm from. I'm just living my dream."
Sinner, along with Alcaraz, have now won the last seven majors between them, with the world number one winning four to the Spaniard's three since the 2024 Australian Open.
The pair's rivalry has blossomed on the court, with Sinner ending a run of five consecutive defeats against Alcaraz in the Wimbledon showpiece.
Sinner's win was his 81st men's singles match win at grand slam events. Since 2000, only Rafael Nadal (86) has claimed more wins from his first 100 matches at majors.
And when asked about what it took to bounce back from his defeat to Alcaraz at Roland-Garros, Sinner said it had been an emotional journey.
"I would say it was mostly emotional, because I had a very tough loss in Paris," he added.
"But at the end of the day, it doesn't matter how you win, or how you lose. At important tournaments you just have to understand what you did wrong and work on that.
"We tried to accept the loss and keep working. For sure, that is one of the reasons why I am holding this trophy. Having this means a lot."
The match was perhaps decided on serve, with Sinner managing just two double faults to Alcaraz's seven, while the defending champion also had 49 unforced errors to his opponent's 35.
Sinner broke Alcaraz early in the fourth set to give him the opportunity to serve for the title, boasting three championship points.
And though Alcaraz was able to fend off the first point, he could not do so a second time, as Sinner fired off a fierce forehand that proved unreturnable.
On how he felt serving for the match, Sinner said: "The last game I served very well.
"I had some tough moments in the game before, but in best-of-five matches every moment can change the match, so I'm very happy I held my nerve."
