The victories earned by hard work are valued twice as much, and if they are to win Wimbledon, three times as much. Jannik Sinner knows this well, defeated in Australia, fainted at Roland Garros, and who recovers on the grass of the All England Club. In a final that is for a long time a bombardment, the Italian rises against a tenacious Alexander Zverev to finally prevail 6-7 (9), 7-6 (2), 6-3, and 6-4 in 3 hours and 46 minutes. He is crowned for the second consecutive time at Wimbledon and captures his fifth Grand Slam title.
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But above all, he shows who rules the circuit and who is number one. He has only three losses all year but needed to confirm it in a major.
He does it against a Zverev who enters a bright central Wimbledon court ready to prove he is another player. That the victory at Roland Garros has multiplied his conviction. That he is no longer that frustrated and frustrating tennis player capable of complaining about everything and throwing away his undeniable qualities. The world number two ahead of Alcaraz goes out to play with the idea of wiping out the nine previous encounters with the Italian, nine matches in which Sinner has shaken him, the last six without conceding a single set, including a thrashing in this year’s Madrid Masters 1,000 final. That was only a couple of months ago, but the German has transformed in this time. It won’t be enough to win but enough to fight hard.
Absent due to injury Alcaraz and hesitant Sinner, Zverev took the opportunity to be crowned in Paris and to settle his debt with the Grand Slams. No one will ever be able to tell him again that he is the best player in history… among those who have no major in their trophy case. The title at Roland Garros has freed him, and now it is about showing it also against Sinner in their first grass match.
The new Zverev fights like never before but still not enough to beat the Italian, who regains all his power
The duel begins as a power struggle, a journey on an aircraft carrier that keeps launching shells. Because each player’s service turns into a chimera for the returner. Boom goes the serve, boom comes the return. Serves smash onto the opponent’s court at over 210 kilometers per hour, making breaks almost impossible. There won’t be any until the third set. Barely one break point in the entire first set, in favor of Sinner, which he wastes by hitting the net. And only one mini-break in the tiebreak, the one Zverev gets to seal the set with an impressive cross-court forehand.
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It had to be with the forehand, the shot that has always given him the most headaches and the one that has improved the most in recent weeks. 1 hour and 5 minutes of battle and Zverev is leading. This does not resemble the previous matches at all. There is a match here. Indeed, there is.
Despite the heat (28 degrees in London at the start of the match), Sinner, who is affected by playing in high temperatures, tries to recover. He maintains an impeccable attitude, cheers up with every good shot seeking support from his box, and continues to concede very little. Under the watchful eyes of Prince William and actors Dustin Hoffman and Nicole Kidman, he waits for his moment like a predator in the savannah. He is patient and understands that the match is a sudoku and Zverev, who injects insulin because he is diabetic halfway through the second set, does too. The inexorable outcome is a second tiebreak. And here finally comes the Italian’s time, who steps on the accelerator and ties the match by dominating the tiebreak from start to finish. Therefore, a new test comes for Zverev. Sinner’s toughness when the demands are maximum is known, but the German’s is yet to be discovered. Whether he is truly a new Zverev or the old one appears, the one who collapses.
Evening falls and so does the sun over the All England Club. From the shadows emerges Sinner and yet Zverev enjoys his first break point. He cannot take advantage because he slips after a drop shot from the Italian and will pay for it. Because in the next game he loses his serve in the first break of the entire match. After 2 hours and 54 minutes, a returner prevails to go up 5-3.
The number 1 conquers a final that at times is a bombardment between two brutal servers
The champion does not forgive and takes the lead on the scoreboard. Sinner no longer allows a new plot twist and takes the fourth set and the match with unassailable consistency, the one that turns him into a flawless machine. The new Zverev, greatly improved especially mentally, also cannot overcome a granite-like Sinner who does not lose serve even once.
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