'Only at Wimbledon' moment as stray Champagne cork brings men's final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner to a bizarre halt

Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner locked horns once again for the Wimbledon title on Sunday. However, the latest chapter in their burgeoning rivalry faced an unusual interruption on Centre Court. As Sinner was about to serve at a crucial moment in the match, a Champagne cork landed beside him in what was described as an "only at Wimbledon" moment.

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An "only at Wimbledon" moment interrupted play during a tense men’s final between Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner on Sunday.

The world No. 1, trailing by a set to two-time defending champion Alcaraz, took to the service line as he looked to hold for a 3-1 lead in set two.

But just as Sinner was about to serve, Alcaraz was left throwing his arms in the air in frustration when a Champagne cork popped and landed beside the Italian on Centre Court.

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"Only at Wimbledon could play be disrupted by a Champagne cork on the court," said commentator Alastair Eykyn on the Wimbledon Watchalong on TNT Sports.

Chair umpire Alison Hughes was forced to interject with an unusual request to the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please don't pop your Champagne corks as the players are about to serve," Hughes said.

The interruption didn’t put Sinner off his stride too much as, despite losing the following point, the Italian went on to win the game and continue his strong start to the second set.

The battle between the top two-ranked players in the world comes just five weeks after they contested one of the greatest major finals of all time at the French Open.

On that occasion, Alcaraz came back from two sets down to win a five-set thriller in five-and-a-half hours, saving three Championship points along the way.

The Spaniard went into Sunday’s Wimbledon final on a five-match winning streak against Sinner and with a perfect record of five wins from five major finals in his young career.

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He got off to the perfect start by claiming the opening set on Centre Court, recovering from surrendering an early break to win four games in a row at the tail end of the opener.

However, an early break for Sinner in set two left Alcaraz with some work to do when the stray cork interrupted his bid to get a break and put the set back on serve.

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