Jannik Sinner exacted revenge for his heartbreaking loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open tennis final by beating the same opponent in four sets at Wimbledon. Although Alcaraz came from 2-4 down to win the first set, the world number one quickly recovered and went on to beat the Spaniard to win his first Major on grass. In all three sets, he broke Alcaraz’s serve just once, and that was enough to win the match. Sinner undoubtedly played a level of tennis of the highest class, even as the Spaniard seemed somewhat resigned to his fate. This was a stark contrast to how he had fought back from three match points down to beat the world number one in Paris.
Sinner would consider himself fortunate to have progressed this far, as his fourth-round opponent, Grigor Dimitrov, who was leading by two sets to love, had to retire after damaging his pectoral muscle in the third set. Sinner made the most of the lucky break and never looked back in the following rounds, although he had his serving arm elbow wrapped up after falling awkwardly on it in the match against ‘Baby Fed,’ as Dimitrov is known. He is one of the few players left on the pro circuit who still plays the one-handed backhand, as the great Roger Federer did.
One of the things that has become noticeable in recent times is the increasing dependence of top players on their coaching and support staff. When things are not going well, they are often seen looking at the guest box, shouting, and ranting in frustration. This generally happens when they are playing against a much lower-ranked opponent about whom they may not know much, and so are finding it difficult to secure the easy win they had anticipated. But what can the support staff do if the unknown opponent has raised his level, especially in a Major tournament, and is playing well above expectations? It is difficult to say whether this frustration fuels adrenaline or simply acts as a distraction. Most times, the higher-ranked player prevails simply because they have more experience playing in Majors than the uninhibited young challenger taking his chances.
Another noticeable trend is what happens after the match. When they win, players typically leave their racquets next to their seats, return to the court, bow to the crowd, and acknowledge the support with waves or kisses blown to different parts of the stadium. But when they lose, they tend to just dump their racquets into their bags, collect their towels, and leave — barely offering even a wave to the crowd. Why is that? Didn’t the crowd support you even in defeat? One can understand making space for the winner to enjoy the applause and ovation, but not even acknowledging the fans with a wave does appear somewhat ungracious.
Be that as it may, it was a terrific fortnight of high-quality tennis, with plenty of upsets in the first week alone, as many seeded players were knocked out. The unusually hot weather made life tough for some players, particularly those featuring in their first Major and having to play five-set matches. Other tournaments use a best-of-three format, so suddenly coming to a Major and facing two additional sets if a match goes the distance is a true test of physical fitness and stamina, and only the super fit come through.
The first three Majors of the year have made it clear that the era of Alcaraz and Sinner has well and truly begun, with the two sharing the titles between them for the second year in a row. Sinner now has two, while Alcaraz, following in the footsteps of Rafa Nadal, claimed the French Open on clay. The last Major is the US Open on a hard court. Will Sinner continue his domination there, or will Alcaraz — or even Novak Djokovic — find new wind and upset the Numero Uno tennis player in the world?
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com