LONDON (AP) — A perfectly-placed topspin lob winner that sailed beyond reach of his 6-foot-6 (1.98-meter) opponent and landed on the outside of the baseline in the second game.
A delicate drop shot which made Alexander Zverev change direction so suddenly that the German player over-extended his right knee at a crucial point of the third set.
Sure, there were plenty of the usual whizzing, missile-like baseline winners from Jannik Sinner in his victory
over Zverev in the Wimbledon final. He also showed off the new variety of his game, though — which came in handy when Zverev unleashed more power than he had used before against the top-ranked player.
The variety of shots were what Sinner’s two coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, appreciated most from their player in Sunday's match.
Just like the Big Three and Big Four before them — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — Sinner, Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz (who is out injured) are continually evolving their games, Cahill noted.
“Alexander is now playing a different style of tennis against Jannik,” Cahill said. “We know Jannik is going to have to improve in certain areas to handle that type of game. Carlos is going to come back really strong, as well — as we all hope … You need to keep adding things to his game.
“We saw a lot of the stuff he doesn’t normally like doing, even in the final today: sliced backhands, a couple lobs, couple drop shots. Really stepping up when he needed to in the big moments.”
Sinner’s second consecutive Wimbledon victory matched the two titles that Alcaraz won before him at the All England Club and raised his overall tally to five Grand Slams — narrowing the gap to Alcaraz’s seven.
Alcaraz missed the French Open and Wimbledon this year due to a right wrist injury and it remains unclear if he’ll return in time for the year’s final Grand Slam at the U.S. Open.
Zverev’s performance in London leapfrogged him ahead of Alcaraz into the No. 2 spot when the new rankings were released Monday.
Zverev’s run on the grass followed his first major title at the French Open last month – after Sinner’s stunning second-round meltdown in Paris.
“Big, big respect to Sascha, because he’s doing something amazing. His game is growing and growing,” Sinner said, using Zverev’s nickname. “You have always someone who is pushing you to the limit. We hope that Carlos is coming back, as well, because tennis needs him.
“Having Novak still around, having all the young players coming, it’s really, really nice,” added Sinner, who beat the 39-year-old Djokovic in the semifinals. “At the same time, you always need to work hard.”
Sinner twice had to come back from a set down in a five-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round — when he also had to deal with blood seeping through his shoe due to a toenail issue.
He didn’t lose another set until Zverev unleashed a barrage of serves at up to 139 mph (224 kph) and backed those up with huge forehands to the corners.
Sinner knew he had a challenge to face when the first-set tiebreaker was decided by an inside-out forehand winner from Zverev.
So did Sinner’s mom, Siglinde, who couldn’t bare to watch some of the more tense moments on Centre Court — which Sinner noticed.
“My mom, I see her, she left the stadium a couple of times,” Sinner said on court during his victory speech, glancing over after she had returned in time for the trophy ceremony. “It’s not easy.”
Amid stifling heat and humidity in Paris in late May, Sinner had his 30-match winning streak ended after coming within one game of a straight-set victory over Juan Manuel Cerundolo, who was ranked No. 56.
Sinner went in for medical exams in Milan after the Paris defeat and acknowledged during Wimbledon that doctors discovered what was bothering him — without revealing the details.
“His medical records are his medical records. We won’t speak about any of that,” Cahill said. “But it’s up to us to make some changes, to do some little things differently.”
Sinner now leaves the court often between sets to refresh himself, change his shirt and get a moment of air-conditioning. During another heat wave the week before Wimbledon began, he used an ice vest to cool down.
“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 more time he spends in the heat, the better he’s going to be at it,” Cahill added. “We might even make some changes to the preseason, chasing the sun a little bit more, getting him more acclimatized to playing in these types of conditions.”
___
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
