THE ALL ENGLAND CLUB, London — All the greats have been in this spot before. The one where winning one of the biggest titles in tennis, even the biggest, is par.It is where Jannik Sinner found himself as he arrived in London last month, to play a second consecutive Grand Slam with his main rival, Carlos Alcaraz, on the sidelines. The previous one, the French Open, had turned into a catastrophe. A heat-and-illness-induced collapse felled Sinner, the top seed and overwhelming favorite, when he was a game away from victory in the second round against then-world No. 54 Juan Manuel Cerúndolo.Immediately afterward, Sinner downplayed the impact of the weather. But as he arrived to defend his Wimbledon title, he reversed course, saying in a news conference at an exhibition event that he and his team had changed elements of his preparation in order to better manage hot conditions, which have troubled him too severely at too many tournaments.After a long spring that included a winning streak of five tournaments and 30 matches, first on hard courts and then on clay, he opted not to play a tuneup on grass. He needed to rest, because one of the biggest tests of his career to date was coming up. It was pass or fail, and there was only one way to pass it.The key to tennis commentating? Feeling the momentCharlotte HarpurSunday on Centre Court, Sinner defended his Wimbledon title, fending off an emboldened Alexander Zverev after dropping the first set to win 6-7(2), 7-6(7), 6-3, 6-4.“There is no failure if you don’t win a Grand Slam,” Sinner said in his news conference. “You just want to enjoy it. Today was a very tough day. If I lose, it’s still a great day. Playing a Grand Slam final, it’s so rare and so special.”The 24-year-old Italian’s celebration after clinching victory with a forehand winner down the line told a slightly different story. Sinner has won massive titles and celebrated them with nothing more than a raise of his arms and a pump of a fist. With the most hallowed stage in the sport almost totally enveloped in shadow, he collapsed on the grass on his back and stared at the sky.Sinner’s coach, Darren Cahill, had a different take again.“It was just one of those things we don’t really have answers for,” he said of the Paris loss to Cerúndolo in a news conference.“It goes to show the maturity of the player that we’re working with in Jannik, that he can take a kick in the guts like that, come back here, work his ass off.”He talked about Sinner arriving 12 days before the start of the tournament, following long days in the heat of June on the French Riviera.“He’s going to have a long, distinguished career,” Cahill said. “He’s going to put himself in a position to win more of these majors. I don’t think this one was any more important than any of the others that he’s played, but it felt damn special, that’s for sure.”A year ago on Centre Court, Sinner came back from a set down to smother Alcaraz. Before it was over, Alcaraz turned to his coaches and all but waved a white flag, telling them he simply wasn’t able to hang with him on this day.