Jannik Sinner went back-to-back at Wimbledon to clinch his fifth major title after beating Alexander Zverev in the final.
Sinner came back from a set down on Centre Court to defeat Zverev 6-7, 7-6, 6-3, 6-4 and complete the second successful Grand Slam title defence of his career.
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Despite conceding his first set to the German in seven meetings, the Italian was not broken once during the match, and ultimately extended his winning streak in their head-to-head to 10 matches.
Now the only man in the Open Era with exactly five major titles, Sinner is just one Grand Slam away from equaling the tallies of Boris Becker and Stefan Edberg.
After his triumph, the 24-year-old met the royal family for the second year in a row, and admitted it was just as difficult speaking to them this time around.
Jannik Sinner speaks after winning Wimbledon for the second time
In his post-match press conference, Sinner said of his conversation with the royal family: “It was not easier (smiling). So much respect, so I never know where the line is.
“No, I think you can really see that they love the sport. This is exactly how we feel as players on court when we see them watching tennis. Staying there for four hours under the sun with the heat, it’s really nice.
“I asked the kids if they still play. They are very happy, yes, they do. We had a very, very small conversation.
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“But I love it. That they also take time to talk with me, it’s something really, really nice.
“Having the whole Royal Box there, as well, the whole people staying for a match like this for four-ish hours, it’s amazing. That’s also the reason why we love to play tennis.”
Jannik Sinner discusses his win over Alexander Zverev
Asked if his return was his biggest weapon against Zverev in the final, Sinner replied: “I think tennis is more about confidence.
“When you feel confident, you feel that playing tennis is easier in that way. I always think it’s easier to return if you know mentally that you can hold serve, so you are a little bit freer to return as good as you can.
“In the same time, against Sascha, when he’s serving like this, he’s really, really tough to break, especially on a surface like this.
“I tried to understand, especially in the important moments, second-set tiebreak, trying to understand where is he going. It was still very close, even though it was 7-2.
“When you change on 4-2, you know you have to make this point with my own serve, because if not, it’s 4-3. With big servers, you can be 5-4 down.
“Of course, the return is so important, as well. From my point of view, it’s more important trying to keep the service games, and then you see what’s coming with the return game.”
Sinner had his serve broken just once in the second week of Wimbledon, which came against Jan-Lennard Struff in the quarterfinals.
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