Tennis fans of recent vintage never tire of talking about the ‘Big Three’ of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Key Factors
Sunday’s final at Wimbledon, where Jannik Sinner brought down the German wall in Alexander Zverev 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4, may be the first sign of such a triumvirate developing in this era. For the audience, it immediately brought back memories of 2022 when he rolled his ankle badly in the French Open semifinal against Rafael Nadal. Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev pose with their trophies after the men’s singles final at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships | Photo Credit: AP Jannik Sinner of Italy plays a return to Alexander Zverev of Germany men’s singles final at Wimbledon Tennis Championships | Photo Credit: AP Zverev slipped while trying to chase it and went down clutching his right knee.
Evidence and Data
Zverev’s first serve percentage hovered around 80% for much of the final against Sinner while his forehand, once regarded as too passive, was used to destructive effect to rock the Italian. With a power-packed performance, second seed Alexander Zverev ousted wildcard Fery 7-6(0), 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to enter his first Wimbledon final. Though the Zverev-Fery fixture lasted six minutes less, it featured the most competitive set of the day. Zverev was the favourite, but playing to expectations is not always easy, especially on the biggest stages and in front of a partisan crowd. Flavio Cobolli experienced this first-hand in his dispiriting quarterfinal loss to Fery.
