Sinner, Wimbledon champion: ‘I’m proud of myself’

A celebration that Jannik Sinner doesn’t usually indulge in: he threw himself to the ground, his hands over his face, after the forehand down the line that sealed the final against Sasha Zverev at Wimbledon; coach Simone Vagnozzi’s eyes were glistening; his mum Siglinde, who went in and out of Centre Court twice because she couldn’t bear the tension: it is the fifth Grand Slam title won by the world number one, the second in a row at Church Road, but it feels a little special, for many reasons. Perhaps because it came after an incredibly intense match, at times a real struggle, in which the two players were evenly matched for two and a half hours. Perhaps because the shock of that second-round defeat at Roland Garros – where he let victory slip away with just one game to go – was always lurking in the background. Perhaps because Wimbledon isn’t quite like any other tournament. The fact is that Sinner, at the press conference, said he was “proud” of himself and his team, who “always push him in the right direction”, and emphasised that “there’s so much happiness”.

The match then turned into a high-quality contest, on a windy day, against a Zverev who was serving relentlessly and had regained form with his forehand – usually his weakest shot. “Breaking him, especially on this surface, is extremely difficult,” said Sinner, who pointed out that in tennis “confidence” is crucial: holding his own service games gave him more freedom in his returns; “at crucial moments, I tried to work out where he’d direct the serve” – and it was in the second-set tie-break – which he won 7-2 – that he took his game to the next level. However, “at 4-2, when you change ends, you know you absolutely have to win the point on your serve. Otherwise it becomes 4-3 and, against great servers, in a flash you find yourself 5-4 down”: in short, it’s always just a handful of points that determine everything.

The German, for his part, expressed his satisfaction: “This is the sort of tennis I want to play. I’ve won a Grand Slam in Paris for the first time in my career, and I’ve reached the final here. Is everything perfect? No, but things are going well and I need to keep going down this path.” He added that Sinner is the best player in the world and that only two or three players (including Novak Djokovic) can challenge him. “I think I put him to the test today. Not enough, of course, given that I’m here as the loser. But I’ll keep doing it,” he concluded.

The Italian player’s coach, Simone Vagnozzi, also highlighted his reliable serve (Sinner conceded just one break point and fired 15 aces), recalling how much time they had devoted to it over the years: “It’s work that goes back a long way, to 2022. We decided on the biggest change after last year’s US Open. How he plants his foot and pushes off, bringing the ball closer to his body, the different timing. Lots of little things. Over time, Jannik has gained confidence; he’s hitting the corners better and better, and he’s more precise even if he isn’t the most powerful. Every year he’s improved his serve, including his second serve.” Vagnozzi said there will now be a week’s rest: “The Sinner of today is not the 22-year-old who was devoted solely to tennis; he wants to take time for himself, for his girlfriend and his family. We need to be careful not to put too much pressure on him; he’ll have a long career.” The contract with his other coach, Darren Cahill, expires at the end of 2026 and there’s no news as yet, but Vagnozzi made it clear that should Darren not remain with the team, “someone else will certainly come in; I can’t manage it on my own, and it’s only right to take turns at certain tournaments to recharge our batteries.”

In the meantime, however, we are savouring a magnificent victory in the temple of tennis, secured in the presence of Prince William and Princess Kate, as well as former champions on the London grass such as Stefan Edberg (two-time winner, in ’88 and ’90), Lleyton Hewitt (2002), Jan Kodes (1973), Richard Krajicek (1996) and Stan Smith (1972), who were all present in the Royal Box. Film stars such as Nicole Kidman, Ben Stiller and Dustin Hoffman were also in attendance. Together with the more than 14,000 spectators on Centre Court, they enjoyed almost four hours of great tennis.