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Jannik Sinner took slightly more time to prepare for his serve as he trailed 15-30 and 1-2 in the fourth set of his second Wimbledon final. In a serve-dominant match that had produced just one break for over three hours, this was a pivotal moment in the contest, but the gusty wind was completely out of control. The wind had only slightly settled down when Sinner stepped up to the baseline, but he still offered a decisive response under immense pressure: service winner, service winner, service winner. Hold.

Sinner delivered this supreme level of serving for the entirety of a bruising three hour, 46-minute contest between the two best players at Wimbledon and alongside his unimpeachable mental toughness, it allowed the world No 1 to brilliantly recover from a bruising first set to defend his Wimbledon title by defeating Alexander Zverev, the second seed, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4.

So much of this match came down to the serve. Some years ago, Sinner’s own limitations on this would have been exposed by Zverev, who landed an outrageous 76% of first serves while averaging 132mph on his first serve and even 114mph on his second. However, the recent transformation of his serve has been one of the most significant developments with men’s tennis in recent years and it is one of many reasons why he will be such a threat at Wimbledon for years to come.

Based solely on their recent history, Zverev had no chance at all in the match. He had come into the final having lost nine consecutive matches and 14 sets in a row against Sinner. He had lost most of these matches before they had even stepped on to the court. However, after winning his long-awaited first grand slam title at Roland Garros last month, it remained to be seen how much that triumph would positively affect his mentality.

Zverev certainly approached this match with far greater confidence and intention, and for over a set and a half the German played the best, most attacking tennis he has ever produced in a big match. However, over the course of a long best of five set match, he could not maintain that level in the key moments. As is often the case, Zverev’s forehand was exposed under pressure as Sinner, the superior tennis player, worked steadily towards his triumph.

This victory marks a milestone fifth grand slam title for Sinner, who has now compiled a cool 5-2 record in major finals. Considering his dominance of the ATP tour events in the best of three sets format, where he has won an outlandish five consecutive tournaments and 29 matches, another major title has been a long time coming. It is hard to believe that this is his first grand slam triumph since Wimbledon last year.

Just over a month ago, Sinner was in the midst of one of the most crushing defeats of his career, a scarcely believable physical collapse in the second round of the French Open while leading two sets and 5-1 in the third set against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo. It would have taken many great players months to digest and process such a result, with more difficult losses following.

Sinner, though, continues to show that he is such a resilient player. This victory also comes a year after his excruciating loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, which he followed up by defeating the Spaniard to win his first Wimbledon title. His ability to rapidly move on from brutal setbacks so quickly is a supreme and invaluable quality, which will allow the 24-year-old to continue establishing himself among the greats.

For Zverev, the biggest question in these match-ups is always his forehand, both its overall quality and his willingness to attack. He made his intentions clear from the beginning with his ultra-offensive start behind his weaker wing. That approach came with a high amount of unforced errors early on, but deep in the tie-break, behind some magnificent serving from both players, that conviction paid off. In a bruising, extended exchange at 8-7 in the tie-break, it was Zverev who unloaded on a brilliant down-the-line forehand winner, pumping both fists as he snatched the set.

The dramatic end to the opening set did little to change the overall complexion of the match. Destructive, precise serving from both sides of the net continued to dominate in the second set and Zverev continued to strike the ball at an incredibly high level as they quickly worked their way to a second tie-break. This time Zverev opened the tie-break with two sloppy forehand errors on his first two service points. Unsurprisingly, Sinner made him pay for those mistakes.

It took two and a half sets for the first break to arrive, and despite how well Zverev had performed and competed throughout the match, his errors were all too familiar. Up 40-30 on his serve at 3-4, Zverev hit a double fault, then sprayed consecutive forehand errors to hand over the break. Sinner secured the break point with an incredible amount of recovering after a slip and then putting enough pressure on the Zverev forehand for it to break down. Once Sinner had snatched the set and rolled, he refused to let his challenger back into the match as he marched towards a victory that further establishes him among the best tennis players of his time.