So much for theories: the idea that Jannik Sinner would be forever haunted by missing three Championship points in the Roland-Garros final a mere five weeks ago was debunked with three hours and four minutes of brilliance from the Italian.
He dethroned Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to win his first Wimbledon title (on the evidence of these four sets, there will be more). This time when he held three Championship points, there was only going to be one outcome.
“I had a very tough loss in Paris but, at the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter how you win or you lose, especially in important tournaments, you just have to understand what you did wrong,” Sinner said.
“We try and work on that. That’s exactly what we did. We tried to accept the loss and just kept working and this is one of the reasons why I hold this trophy here.
“I’m just so grateful that I’m healthy, that I have great people around me, which is the most important part and having this trophy means a lot.
"The last game, I served very well so I’m very happy about that. But best-of-five, every moment can change the match so I’m very happy that I hold my nerves. It’s an amazing feeling.”
Imagine being back at school. There is the head of the class: always neat and tidy, always hands his homework in on time and always gets top marks.
Then there is the class character: everyone likes him (including the teachers) and he works hard but sometimes his homework is a little late, his handwriting is messy and his spelling is creative rather than accurate.
Yet come exam time, the class character sails through with flying colours and, seemingly,
few nerves. He always rises to the occasion.
So it is with Sinner and Alcaraz. The Italian is metronomically accurate and precise; he hits the ball so cleanly and with such power.
He can run most opponents ragged, moving them from side to side along the baseline. Often, though, he does not have to as few men can cope with the speed and power of his ground strokes.
And he is the head of class, the world No.1.
Alcaraz is the likeable character who will drop the occasional set, whose concentration may dip from time to time but who can invent and create, improvise and entertain.
And when it comes to his exam time – a Grand Slam final – he always rises to the occasion. He has played in five previous finals and won them all.
He may not use textbook tactics – creating magic out of nothing, striking winners
at full stretch and from impossible positions – but you cannot take your eyes off
him.
Sinner began in immaculate fashion, striking the ball crisply, serving with authority: big serve, punishing plus-one drive. Point won.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, was struggling with the timing of his forehand. Sinner spotted this and started to target that flank – there could be profit to be made there.
And there it was: the first dividend to the Italian as the champion dropped his serve
with a forehand that sailed over the baseline.
But there is no time to settle with Alcaraz.
Yes, there is a pattern to his play. But which one? He has so many patterns to choose from.
He tried to slice the ball (Sinner was unfazed by that). Then he went for thundering
power – that cracked the Sinner serve and they were back on level terms.
To secure the set, Alcaraz rifled through his pattern book again. This time he opted for the athletic moment of magic: on the run and at full stretch he somehow manufactured a backhand winner to break as the Italian was serving to stay in the set.
And then his concentration lapsed, he dropped his serve at the start of the second set and was chasing Sinner’s shadow thereafter.
The world No.1 had had a sneaky look at Alcaraz’s book and was now playing a game
of “anything you can do, I can do better”.
He was taking on the Spaniard’s forehand (which had sorted itself out by now) and
matched it. He threaded ferocious passing shots down the line and sprinted to collect
lost causes and turn them into winners.
After 92 minutes, he had levelled the score: a set apiece.
The champion’s first serve percentage was dropping and he could not recalibrate his focus. He was facing two break points at the start of the next set – he had to dig himself out of another hole.
He did but he was playing with fire.
Sinner’s form had not wavered; his body language was relentlessly positive. He was serving like a marksman and moving as if jet-propelled.
And he had taken the third set.
Alcaraz was rattled.
Sinner was pouring the pressure on him in every service game (and breaking for a 2-1 lead at the start of the fourth set) and there was nothing the Spaniard seemed to be able to do about it.
He ran and he fought but, in the end, he had to hand over his title and the keys to Centre Court to the world No.1, Jannik Sinner, the head of the class.