Bill Simons
Full of unblinking belief, blasting free with a stats-be-damned confidence, Alexander Zverev unloaded with a forehand winner to the corner, astonishing Jannik Sinner and the tennis universe, as he took the first-set tiebreaker of today’s Wimbledon final 9-7.
Suddenly, a shelf-load of statistics crashed to the floor. Long ago, a legend quipped, “Nobody beats Vitas Gerulaitis 17 times in a row.”
So, never mind that Sinner had demolished Zverev four times this year, and dismissed him nine times in a row.
Never mind that the scorelines were often lopsided embarrassments, and, in his four matches this year against the Italian, Zverev had managed to gain a measly three break points.
But, what the heck, they say statistics are just history with the humanity scrubbed out. And spread sheets aren’t that important on Centre Court – nerve and grit matter more. Streaks are data waiting for a sledgehammer. So, Zverev didn’t just win the opening set tiebreak, he broke the algorithm.
Sure, Sascha might have been fortunate that, en route to the French Open title, his last three foes were named Jodar, Mensik and Cobolli – not Djokovic, Alcaraz or Sinner. And that, yes, at the business end of Wimbledon, he’d downed Taylor Fritz after the American’s knee betrayed him, and then only had to dispatch the No. 114 player in the world, Arthur Fery, to reach the final.
But then, Sascha would face the game’s most fearsome ball striker. After losing to Sinner at the Australian Open, Zverev confessed, “Jannik’s simply better than I am. There’s no part of the game he doesn’t do better than me.”
After the Italian throttled him in Madrid in May 6-1, 6-2, Sascha again tipped his cap, saying Sinner was in a category by himself.
Plus, let’s not forget that, just a year ago, after a wretched first-round Wimbledon loss, the forlorn Sascha confessed that he felt completely lonely, on court and off; that he had no joy in his life and when he woke in the morning he had no motivation. He’d reached rock bottom.
He knew something had to change. It certainly did.
Rarely have we seen such a sudden shift. The hardworking man, who sought out tips from Rafa Nadal and improved his forehand, his movement and his volleys, went on in just five weeks to transform his once-problematic career.
After his Paris win, he could have taken a breather at Wimbledon, where, incredibly, he’d never gone beyond the fourth round. Instead, he dug deep and sustained his surge, and, on his least favorite surface, lifted his record in Slams this year to 18-1.
Yes, in a very different register, some fans still felt bitter about his failure to fully address charges of domestic abuse – such troubling memories.
But for Sascha, as he battled bravely today, memories of blown leads, gut-wrenching double faults and his too timid, play-not-to-lose mindset were in the rear view mirror. And, at last, no one again could ask that damning question: “Why are you the best player never to have won a Slam?”
Unburdened and hitting with freedom, he played with the conviction of a convert.
Time and again, we’d seen the man combat his diabetes with injections on court. Now his entire career had been injected with a surge of belief.
But reality can be unkind. There’s a reason why Sinner was the No. 1 seed and Zverev was No. 2.
The red-lining German’s level dipped ever so slightly. In the second-set tiebreak, he donated two forehand errors while Sinner returned brilliantly, hit his deep forehands with merciless conviction, put his trademark down-the-line backhand on full display, and won the second-set tiebreak to even the match at a set all.
Doubt Sinner at your own risk.
The masterful and merciless mechanic, who strikes tennis balls with such soul-crushing precision, is now by far the best in a tennis world without Carlos Alcaraz.
He seemed to say: “Bring it on! Sascha, you came out fast, you punched hard. But I’m a level above. I’ve seen your force. I absorbed your storm. Now, here’s mine.”
Still, Sascha battled on, and ripped a 101-mph forehand to gain only his second break point in 31 games, midway through the third set.
In a stunning shootout with the narrowest of margins, here was the moment of truth. Could Zverev break and grab the lead?
No. The German giant slipped, fell in a heap and grabbed his knee. We thought of the 2022 debacle he suffered years ago at Roland Garros when his ankle imploded.
His back on the ground, Sascha flexed his leg and Sinner kindly came by to help him up. But Zverev winced – and then he blinked. His moment was gone. Any hopes of gaining the treasured break of serve soon vanished.
Now his serve wobbled. His intent wavered. His forehand flew. He double-faulted. On one point, Sinner also slipped, but the former junior skier rose nimbly.
In an old-school battle, decided by the narrowest of margins, Sascha lost his serve and his steam, while Sinner trusted the process, struck his 14th ace and surged to a two-sets-to-one lead.
This was not the Jannik Sinner whose world had been shaken by a controversial drug suspension, who’d dropped two championship points to Carlos Alcaraz at the 2025 French Open, who’d withered in Parisian heat earlier this year, and had to scramble to get out of the first round at Wimbledon against the Serbian journeyman Miomir Kecmanovic.
Rather, we saw the man with the small fist pumps and big guns will his way to victory. Maintaining steely focus, redirecting Zverev’s thunderbolts with noteworthy ease, dominating from the middle, experimenting with his return position, Sinner showed us his pedigree.
“Sascha, you’re a stud, but you can’t shake me.”
Still, the 6’ 6” Olympic gold medalist showed his mettle, resisting with courage, blasting a 137-mph serve and charging the net. He went for the lines, missing only by inches.
But Sinner didn’t falter.
He returned brilliantly, pushed the fading Zverev back and blasted a down-the-line forehand to grab a 4-3 lead in the fourth.
His team rose in unison, fist-pumping their man in ascendance, while the flattened Zverev barked at his father.
Then, just two points from the championship, in a dazzling 23-shot rally, Sinner slipped once again, but recovered, and feathered a devilish half-volley winner off a Zverev drop shot.
And, get this, the often somber Italian beamed with glee. A moment later, the 24-year old held serve against Sascha for the 87th straight time and lifted his hands in triumph.
The man who stumbled in Paris defended his Wimbledon title, claiming his fifth Slam 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4.
Decades ago, another introverted savant, Sweden’s Bjorn Borg, was called the Ice-Borg. The young, unflinching Chris Evert was dubbed the Ice Maiden.
Today, Jannik Sinner claimed a different throne. And tennis again hailed its Ice Monarch.
