Jannik Sinner of Italy holds the trophy after winning the men's singles final match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London on Sunday. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

LONDON (AP) — Jannik Sinner insisted early on at Wimbledon that he put an excruciating loss to Carlos Alcaraz in their epic French Open final behind him. Sinner was sure that one defeat wouldn’t haunt him, wouldn’t prevent a quick recalibration and certainly wouldn’t mean a thing at the All England Club.

Sure was right about all of that.

Exactly five weeks after the devastating defeat at Roland-Garros against his rival, Sinner reversed the result, beating two-time defending Wimbledon champion Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday to win his first championship at the grass-court major.

“At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you win or you lose the important tournaments. You just have to understand what you did wrong. Trying to work on that — that’s exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and then just kept working,” Sinner said Sunday, his shiny gold hardware in his hands. “And this is, for sure, why I’m holding this trophy here.”

The No. 1-ranked Sinner earned his fourth Grand Slam title overall, moving him one away from No. 2 Alcaraz’s total as the two no-longer-rising-but-firmly-established stars of the game separate themselves from the rest of the pack in men’s tennis.

Sinner, a 23-year-old Italian, put an end to several streaks for Alcaraz, a 22-year-old Spaniard, who had been 5-0 in Grand Slam finals.

Alcaraz had won their last five matches, most famously across five sets and nearly 5 1/2 hours on the red clay of the French Open on June 8. Sinner took a two-set lead, then held a trio of match points, but couldn’t close the deal.

This time, he didn’t waver, asserting himself in a match that featured moments of terrific play by both men, but also the occasional lapses — and one memorable, brief, interruption right before a Sinner serve when a Champagne cork came flying out of the stands and settled on the turf.

With Prince William and Princess Kate in the Royal Box, along with King Felipe VI of Spain, Alcaraz stepped into the sunlight bathing Centre Court with a career-best 24-match unbeaten run. He had won 20 matches in a row at the All England Club.

“It’s difficult to lose,” Alcaraz said. “It’s always difficult to lose.”

The last man to beat him at Wimbledon? Sinner, in the fourth round in 2022.