Right when the players enter the Centre Court of SW19, an excerpt from Rudyard Kipling’s poem ‘If’ greets them. It says, “If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster/And treat those two impostors just the same.” And to understand its meaning, who is a better example than Jannik Sinner himself? Weeks after his heartbreaking Roland Garros loss against Carlos Alcaraz, the Italian star became a testament to the words printed on the gates of Centre Court at Wimbledon. Interestingly, in awe of the Italian’s style of play, even Steffi Graf’s ex-coach took a moment to share his encomium.

On July 13th, Sinner defeated Alcaraz in four sets, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to clinch his maiden Wimbledon title. It was a much-deserved victory for Sinner, who kept going despite suffering an injury scare earlier in the tournament. Hence, when talking about Sinner’s overall form, Heinz Günthardt shared his unfiltered perspective.

On July 14th, in an interview with Bluewin, Günthardt reflected on Sinner’s title-winning run at the grass-court Grand Slam tournament and the growing rivalry between Sinner and Alcaraz. When he was asked if Sinner is the mentally strongest player on the tour, Gunthardt replied, “Perhaps not. But he is simply the best tennis player at the moment.”

He further talked about Sinner’s strengths and added, “Alcaraz has advantages on clay with his stronger topspin – his balls bounce higher, he can be more variable. But even there you could see how risky his stop shots were, for example. Sinner forces his opponents to change their game again and again – that unsettles them.”

Interestingly, Gunthardt also described how the Italian improved his game over the span of tournament. “Sinner used to be average on serve – but in the final he served at over 220 km/h when necessary. Statistically, Alcaraz had the better service values until the final, but against an opponent like Sinner, it’s the form of the day that counts. The ability to step up in the decisive moments is what sets the very best apart. They play at 98 percent through the tournament – and still have reserves when it counts,” explained the 66-years-old Swiss star.

However, when it came to the subject of mental toughness, Sinner has had his own set of challenges, which he conquered gracefully. Back in 2020, Sinner created a project, ‘What’s Kept You Moving’, which focused on raising awareness about mental health and improving the situation. “For me, I feel like not enough people were or are talking about the subject, there are some conversations happening but not enough, and that’s why I wanted to use the platform that I have to try and create some awareness and get more people talking,” Sinner said when raising awareness about mental health.

Further, the Italian credits the major chunk of his success to his family and once revealed how his family helped him cross the rough waters. He shared an emotional message for his family after capturing his first Wimbledon title. His entire family was there in the stands to cheer him on during his match against Alcaraz.

Jannik Sinner’s emotional ode to his family

The initial part of this year may not have been the best for Jannik Sinner. It all started with a doping ban a few months ago. But, Sinner kept doing the hard work and got a constant support from his close ones. As a result, Sinner thanked them after his maiden Wimbledon win and had a heartwarming message for them.

He said, “It feels emotional because only me and the people who are close to me know exactly what we have been through on and off the court, and it has been everything except easy. We’ve tried to push every practice session, even I was struggling at times mentally. To share this moment with my family here, my whole family here, it’s the most amazing thing that could have happened to me, no?”

The 23-year-old the expressed his gratitude and mentioned, “In Paris, it was only my mom, and it was still an amazing feeling. Here, my dad and my brother and my mom too and the whole team, not only from my coaches’ perspective, but everyone who works for me has been here. It has been, yeah, an amazing feeling.”

While Sinner would look to enjoy the sweet success of his Wimbledon win, he has little time to rest, with the hard-court season coming up. Sinner will next be seen in action at the Canadian Open, beginning later this month.