LONDON: When Alexander Zverev missed a forehand early in the second-set tie-break of Sunday’s Wimbledon final after Jannik Sinner put a mighty serve back in play, the Italian turned towards his box, fist clenched. Coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi were already on their feet, cheering their player. It was the first real crack in the German’s game some two hours into the match and the 24-year-old sensed it instantly. It was time to shift gears.That is exactly what he did over the next 10 minutes to level the match. His serve hit the spots, the forehand crackled with greater intent and the version of Sinner reserved for the biggest moments emerged. There was one other phase in the match when he reached for that gear. Early in the fourth set, with the wind swirling and the match beyond the three-hour mark, Sinner trailed 1-2, 15-30. At the other end, Zverev knew it was the moment he had to seize if he was to drag the final into a fifth set. Sinner twirled his racket, stepped to the line and delivered exactly what the situation demanded, three service winners.Every player on the tour knows the Italian has another level. Few matches illustrated it better than last year’s Wimbledon final, when he arrived on the back of a heart-breaking Roland Garros defeat to Carlos Alcaraz. For much of Sunday’s match he went stride for stride with his 29-year-old opponent, secure in the knowledge that, if the match demanded it, there was always another gear.After the final, Zverev acknowledged the five-time major champion’s place at the top of the game, calling Sinner “the best player in the world” and saying that only two, maybe three players, Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and himself, could consistently push the Italian.Yet that ability to raise his level was not simply a product of confidence. It had been sharpened over one of the most difficult years of Sinner’s career.If the world No. 1 arrived at Wimbledon last year emotionally drained after letting three championship points slip away in the Roland Garros final, he returned to SW19 this year carrying a different scar. Chasing the career Grand Slam in Paris, Sinner led Juan Manuel Cerundolo by two sets and 5-1 in the second round before his energy levels dropped alarmingly, ending in a five-set defeat.The collapse immediately raised questions. What was wrong with the world No. 1? Was the problem physical? Mental? Or a combination of both?Sinner has never publicly explained exactly what happened in Paris, but shortly afterwards he underwent a battery of tests in Milan before travelling to London for his title defence. He later told the Italian media at Wimbledon that he now knows what caused the collapse and is doing everything he can to ensure it does not happen again.That perspective extends beyond the physical. “There is no failure if you don’t win a Grand Slam,” he said on Sunday. “We talk about five Grand Slams, but at the end of the day, it’s five days of so many other days. You just want to enjoy it. Today was a very tough day. If I lose, it’s still a great day. Playing a Grand Slam final is so rare and so special.”The defending champion made a sluggish start to his title defence, needing five sets to overcome Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round. Cahill, who had intended to stop coaching last year before being persuaded by Sinner to stay on, said the world No. 1 arrived in London 12 days before for what was one of the hottest Wimbledons on record.“Look, he’s a redhead that lives in the north of Italy, that grew up in the snow and the Alps. Hot weather is a little bit different for him than it is for most people,” Cahill said.The Australian said what impressed him most was not that Sinner had been knocked down, but how quickly he got back to work.“We get a phone call. All right, boys, what are we doing? Let’s get back on the court. What are we working towards? What’s the plan? Where are we going? What do we need to do to get better?” he said.That may be Sinner’s greatest gift. His serve can overwhelm, his forehand can dominate and his court coverage can suffocate opponents, but none of those define him quite like his response to adversity. Paris exposed a weakness, Wimbledon revealed the answer. The extra gear he found against Zverev on Centre Court was not born in the final itself. It had been forged in disappointment, refined on the practice courts and unleashed precisely when the biggest match of the fortnight demanded it.
