Mumbai: At the end of an intense rally, Miomir Kecmanovic was positioned at the right place and time to play an easy half-volley into an open court. He was now up by two sets to one against top seed Jannik Sinner.Italy's Jannik Sinner reacts against Germany's Alexander Zverev during the men's singles final of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships. (AFP)If not earlier, the alarm bells were definitely ringing and the world No.1 looked on course for another early exit at a Grand Slam.At the French Open last month, especially with his closest rival and defending champion Carlos Alcaraz deciding not to play due to an injury, Sinner was a strong favourite to win his first claycourt Slam. He was playing like it as well, until, despite leading by two sets and up 5-1 in the third, the wheels came off dramatically in the second round loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.Against Kecmanovic, the Italian’s title defence was in danger of failing in the first round at Wimbledon. But he rode his luck, fought hard on the important points, used his heavy-hitting to bail him out, and then played himself into form all the way to winning a second consecutive title in London.In each of the four Grand Slams he had won prior to Sunday, the often straight-faced Sinner celebrated his title without much emotion. But after he beat Alexander Zverev 6-7(7), 7-6(2), 6-3, 6-4 to win his fifth Major, he no longer remained stoic.“Every Grand Slam is different,” he said in his press conference.“Different story, different environment, different feelings before the tournament. For me, this one means a lot because it was a tough one after Paris again. Coming here, I tried to put myself in the best possible position to be as competitive as possible. We put in a lot of workdays in Monaco, very, very long. Having this achievement, it means a lot to me.”Wimbledon was the first tournament he played after the debacle in Paris, making him the eighth man in the Open Era to win the grass court Major without playing a tune-up event.After he fought his way to a five-set win in the first round, it seemed like he took a big risk by coming to Wimbledon without any match practice on grass. But then as the pristine lawn in Centre Court started to wither with each passing day, Sinner’s form improved.What sets grass - the only living surface in tennis - apart from the rest is that the ball zips off the surface and speeds up while staying low. Since the turn of the century however, organisers at Wimbledon have been slowing down the court while tennis balls in general have started to become heavier to promote longer rallies.The players are now well adept at playing in such conditions. But Sinner and Alcaraz do it best.Masterful and quick in defence, Sinner is a powerful striker of the tennis ball - off either wing. It takes an opponent to hit deeper into angles (at the risk of unforced errors) just to get him into a position where he looks uncomfortable.Zverev did that to a certain extent in the final.The tall German, armed with one of the best and biggest serves in the modern game, was playing his groundstrokes with more aggression than he is used to. All the while though, Zverev couldn’t quite challenge Sinner’s serve.Eventually though, the 24-year-old Italian found his rhythm and started to return with intent, getting the only two breaks of serve in the match to seal a four-set win.“Tennis is more about confidence,” Sinner said. “It’s easier to make returns when you know mentally that you can hold your own serve. You are a little bit freer to return as good as you can.”Sinner’s defence of his Australian Open title ended in the semi-final when he lost to Novak Djokovic in Melbourne. After that, he went on an incredible run of winning 30 matches on-the-trot, putting him in prime form going into the French Open.That shock against Cerundolo was devastating. And though there was cause for concern against Kecmanovic, Sinner found a second wind at the right time. And he continued in that same vein.“I have improved throughout the whole tournament. If you see the performance from the first 2-3 matches and how I ended the tournament, I’ve always been growing,” he added. “I’ve been looking for this improvement.”After the unexpected exit at the previous Grand Slam, order was restored at Wimbledon.