Photo: Getty Images
Sunday’s first two sets made good on that promise of something special. Zverev, perhaps the most powerful server on the tour (his first serves were averaging 130 mph at the start of the match), showed none of the passivity that had previously hamstrung his progress at the majors, fighting off a break point at 3–4 and then swinging his way to a tiebreak, which he won with a blazing forehand return on Sinner’s serve.
The second set would come with more of the same: two tremendous athletes playing at the top of their game. Indeed, Sinner and Zverev reached a second tiebreak—marking the first time the gentlemen’s final had featured tiebreaks in two consecutive sets since 2015—though it was Sinner, with what seemed like a new fire in his eyes, who won that one, and decisively, 7–2.
By the third set, things started to shift. Centre Court was draped in shadow, and while Zverev’s pace began to slow, Sinner was locked in, lunging and sliding to cover the court. When, at 3–3, Zverev had a look at breaking Sinner’s serve, he missed the point before toppling over into the grass and gripping his knee—at which point Sinner, ever the sportsman, jogged around the net to help his opponent to his feet. But that was about where the courtesies ended: it was soon Sinner who got the break to take a 5–3 lead—and then the set.
The fourth set was punctuated by increasingly dramatic rallies and drop shots that left Sinner splitsing, stretching, and rolling on the grass—but his power prevailed. He gained a vital break when he hit a brilliant forehand just out of Zverev’s reach on a third break point. Faced with a vicious backhand from Zverev, Sinner stayed consistent with the groundstrokes, an intense diving volley, a dexterous drop shot, and calculated forehand to serve out. Championship point! A victory by 6-4.
