LONDON: When Alexander Zverev missed a forehand early in the second set tie-break on Sunday. Wimbledon final after Jannik Sinner returned a powerful serve, the Italian turned to his box, scratched. Coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi were already on their feet, cheering on their players. This was the first real crack at German game: about two hours into the game and the 24-year-old felt it immediately. It’s time to shift gears.That’s exactly what he did for the next 10 minutes to level the game. His serve hit in spots, the forehand cracked with greater purpose and the version of Sinner reserved for the biggest moments came out. There was another phase in the game when he reached that tool. Early in the fourth set, with the wind blowing and the match going past the three-hour mark, Sinner was buried at 1-2, 15-30. At the other end, Zverev knew this was the moment he had to seize if he wanted to pull out the final fifth set. The sinner twirled his racket, headed for the line and delivered exactly what the situation demanded, three service winners.Every player on the tour knows that the Italian is on another level. Few matches illustrated this better than last year’s Wimbledon final, when he came off the back of a heartbreaking Roland Garros loss to Carlos Alcaraz. For most of Sunday’s game he walked with his 29-year-old opponent, safe in the knowledge that, if the game needed it, there would always be another gear.After the final, Zverev recognized the five-time major champion in the area at the top of the game, calling Sinner “the best player in the world” and saying that only two, maybe three players, Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic and himself, can always push the Italian.But that ability to raise his level isn’t just a product of confidence. It was sharpened by one of the most difficult years of Sinner’s career.If the world no. 1 arrived at last year’s Wimbledon emotionally drained after letting three championship points slip away in the Roland Garros final, he returned to this year’s SW19 carrying a different scar. Chasing a career Grand Slam in Paris, the Sinner led Juan Manuel Cerundolo in two sets and 5-1 in the second round before his energy level dropped dramatically, ending in a five-set defeat.The collapse raised immediate questions. What is wrong with the world? 1? Is the problem physical? mental? Or a combination of both?The sinner has never explained to the public exactly what happened in Paris, but shortly after he went through several tests in Milan before traveling to London for his title defense. He later told Italian media at Wimbledon that he now knows what caused the collapse and is doing everything he can to make sure it doesn’t happen again.That perception goes beyond the physical. “There is no failure if you don’t win a Grand Slam,” he said on Sunday. “We talk about five Grand Slams, but at the end of the day, it’s five days of many other days. You just want to enjoy it. Today is a very difficult day. If I lose, it will be a good day. To play in a Grand Slam final is very special and very special.”The defending champion made a slow start to his title defense, needing five sets to overcome Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round. Cahill, who intended to quit coaching last year before being persuaded by Sinner to stay, said the world No.“Look, he’s a redhead who lives in the north of Italy, who grew up in the snow and in the Alps. The hot weather is a little different for him than for most people,” said Cahill.The Australian said what impressed him most was not that Sinner fell, but how quickly he got back to work.“We had a phone call. Alright, boys, what are we doing? Let’s go back to the court. What are we working on? What’s the plan? Where are we going? What should we do to get better?” he said.That is perhaps the Sinner’s greatest gift. His serve can be heavy, his forehand can be dominant and his court coverage can weaken opponents, but none of what characterizes him is like his response to adversity. Paris exposed a weakness, Wimbledon revealed the answer. The extra utility he found against Zverev on Center Court wasn’t born in the final itself. It was born out of frustration, honed on the practice courts and unleashed precisely when the biggest game of the fortnight called for it.