Jannik Sinner took slightly more time to prepare for his serve as he trailed 15-30 and 1-2 in the fourth set of his second Wimbledon final. In a serve‑dominant match that had produced just one break in more than three hours, this was a pivotal moment in the contest, but the gusty wind was out of control. It had only slightly settled when Sinner stepped up to the baseline, but he still offered a decisive response under immense pressure: service winner, service winner, service winner. Hold.

Sinner delivered this supreme level of serving for the entirety of a savage 3hr 46min contest between the two best players at Wimbledon and alongside his unimpeachable mental toughness it allowed the world No 1 to recover from a bruising first set to defend his Wimbledon title by defeating Alexander Zverev, the second seed, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (2), 6-3, 6-4.

So much of this match came down to the serve. Some years ago, ­Sinner’s own limitations on this would have been exposed by Zverev, who landed 76% of first serves while averaging 132mph on his first serve and even 114mph on his second. ­However, the recent transformation of the ­Italian’s serve has been one of the most significant developments within men’s tennis in recent years and it is one of many reasons why he will be such a threat at Wimbledon for years to come.

Based solely on their recent history, Zverev had no chance in the final having lost nine consecutive matches and 14 sets in a row against Sinner. He had conceded most of these matches before they had even stepped on to the court. But after ­winning a long-awaited first grand slam title at Roland Garros last month, it remained to be seen how much that triumph would positively affect his mentality.

Zverev certainly approached this showdown with far greater confidence and intention, and for a set and a half the German played the best, most attacking tennis he has produced in a big match. However, over the course of a long best‑of‑five‑set contest, he could not maintain that level. Despite how well he struck it for most of the match, Zverev’s forehand still broke down too often in key moments and Sinner paired his excellent serving with incredible scrambling defence, intelligent drop shots and lobs, and excellent returning in the final two sets.

This success marks a fifth grand slam title for Sinner, who now has a won five, lost two record in major finals. Con­sidering his dominance of the ATP Tour events in the best-of-three‑sets format, where he has won five consecutive tournaments and 29 matches, another major title has been a long time coming. This is his first grand slam triumph since Wimbledon last year.

Just over a month ago, Sinner was in the midst of one of the most ­crushing defeats of his career, a scarcely believable physical ­collapse in the second round of the French Open while leading two sets and 5-1 in the third set against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo. It would have taken many great players months to digest and process such a result, with more difficult losses following.

Sinner, though, continues to show his resilience. This victory also comes a year after his ­excruciating defeat against ­Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final, which he followed up by beating the Spaniard to win his first Wimbledon title. His ability to move on quickly from brutal setbacks is an ­invaluable quality which will allow the 24‑year‑old Italian to continue to establish himself among the greats.

For Zverev, the biggest question in these match-ups is always his forehand, both its overall quality and his willingness to attack. He made his intentions clear from the beginning with an ultra-offensive start behind his weaker wing. The approach came with a high amount of unforced errors early on, but deep in the tie-break, behind some magnificent serving from both players, that conviction paid off. In an extended exchange at 8-7, it was Zverev who unloaded on a brilliant down-the-line forehand winner, pumping both fists as he snatched the set.

The dramatic end to the ­opening set did little to change the com­plexion of the match. Destructive, precise serving from both sides of the net continued to dominate in the ­second set as they worked their way quickly to a second tie‑break. This time Zverev opened with two sloppy forehand errors on serve. Unsurprisingly, ­Sinner made him pay for those mistakes.

It took two and a half sets for the first break to arrive and, despite how well Zverev had competed throughout the match, his errors were all too familiar. Up 40-30 on his serve at 3-4, Zverev hit a ­double fault, then sprayed consecutive forehand errors to hand over the initiative. ­Sinner secured the break point with an incredible amount of recovering after a slip and then put enough pressure on the Zverev forehand for it to falter.

Once Sinner had snatched the third set, he refused to let his challenger back into the match as he marched towards a victory that further establishes him among the best tennis players of his time.