London, July 11: Jannik Sinner was still struggling to rediscover his rhythm a month after his meltdown at the French Open and Novak Djokovic was lurking in the Wimbledon semifinals.
Sure, Sinner had won his opening five matches of his title defence at the All England Club. But none of those performances resembled the way that Sinner awed the tennis world earlier this year during a 30-match winning streak.
So how did the top-ranked Sinner suddenly rediscover the form that enabled him to completely overwhelm Djokovic – the seven-time Wimbledon champion – during Friday’s highly awaited encounter on Centre Court?
The answer lies in a return to familiar ground.
Instead of continuing to toil away on Wimbledon’s grass courts, Sinner spent Wednesday practicing on an indoor hard court, the top-ranked player’s team said.
Hard courts are the surface where Sinner has won three of his four Grand Slam titles and the indoor setting was reminiscent of where Sinner learned to play while growing up in a small Alpine village in the Italian Dolomites.
The decision by his two coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, enabled Sinner to regain the timing that has made him the strongest and most feared baseline player in the sport.
“He’s reminded himself just how much that ball can explode off his racket,” said Andre Agassi, who was also coached by Cahill in his career.
Agassi noted how Sinner was “swinging with a full conviction” against Djokovic.
The improvement displayed against Djokovic was a stark contrast from Sinner’s opening five matches.
Sinner twice had to come back from a set down in a five-set marathon against Miomir Kecmanovic in his opener; he was pushed to two tiebreakers by 48th-ranked Nuno Borges in the second round; dropped his serve twice against Jenson Brooksky in the third round; had to play another tiebreaker against Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki in the round of 16; and was also tested by Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarterfinals.
Against Djokovic, Sinner led 40-26 in winners, committed only 15 unforced errors to Djokovic’s 23 and saved the only break point he faced with an ace.
Sinner hadn’t displayed that much confidence since the opening two sets and six games of the third set against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second-round of Roland Garros in late May – before he wilted in a Paris heat wave and was eliminated in stunning fashion.
Now, he’s favoured to seal his second straight Wimbledon title against French Open champion Alexander Zverev in Sunday’s final.
Zverev is a different player now
Zverev, whose breakthrough at Roland Garros came in his fourth Grand Slam final, is attempting to become the first man in the professional era (since 1968) to win his second major title at the next event immediately after his first.
But Sinner has won nine straight meetings with Zverev and 14 consecutive sets against the German.
“You can’t underestimate anyone, especially in a Slam final,” Sinner said. “His victory at Roland Garros really helped him. He’s playing very aggressively. He’s a different player now.”
By reaching the final, Zverev will leapfrog the injured Carlos Alcaraz and move up to No. 2 when the new rankings are released on Monday.
Serving precision
Sinner served 16 aces and no double-faults against Djokovic and won 88% of the points when he got his first serve in.
The 6-foot-3 (1.91-metre) Sinner is the tournament leader with 113 aces while Zverev is fifth with 87. But the 6-foot-6 (1.98-metre) Zverev has put 74% of his first serves in play compared to 66% for Sinner.
Another aspect of their success rate is remarkably close: Sinner has held in 96 of his 102 service games and Zverev has held in 97 of 102. (AP)
