Jannik Sinner’s Wimbledon dream has been realised after beating Carlos Alcaraz on Sunday evening.
The Italian world number one seemed to be wholly unaffected by the brutal French Open final loss just over one month ago, instead maintaining his unwavering mental fortitude throughout the contest.
Sinner, who was congratulated by Alcaraz on Instagram, was simply too good for Alcaraz on Sunday evening. The Italian wowed the Wimbledon crowd with an array of spellbinding shots while giving Alcaraz little room to breathe during baseline rallies.
Another Wimbledon champion, Pat Cash, weighed in on the contest, highlighting a crucial difference that was a key contributing factor to the outcome.
Pat Cash says Jannik Sinner’s maintenance of his level was the ‘difference’
Pat Cash’s style of play as a player was a far cry from Sinner and Alcaraz’s. However, his serve-and-volley tactics, while wearing an iconic black-and-white chequered bandana, helped him win the 1987 Wimbledon title.
Cash, who was commentating for BBC Radio 5 Live’s Wimbledon coverage, noted an important difference between the pair in the final.
Speaking on Sunday evening, Cash said: “When he’s hot, he’s untouchable really.
“His performance was just so solid through the whole match and we know Carlos can go up and down a little bit and that’s the difference. His performance just didn’t dip at all.
“Alcaraz produced some amazing stuff at the end of the first set to grab that first set. We were waiting for it to happen again but you know Sinner just keeps you shackled.
“Big hitting, big serving. Really well deserved.”
Jannik Sinner dominates the serving statistics
Despite Carlos Alcaraz’s excellent serving performances over the last few rounds, he was no match for a superb Sinner serving rendition.
The Italian beat or equalled Alcaraz in every aspect of serving, making 62 per cent of his first serves compared to Alcaraz’s 53 per cent, winning 60 per cent of his second serve points compared to Alcaraz’s 51 per cent.
The Spaniard rarely threatened the Sinner serve after the first set. After breaking twice to win the opening set, Alcaraz failed to break Sinner in the next three, generating six opportunities in total across the contest.
Meanwhile, Sinner generated nine break-point opportunities, taking four of them.
