Jannik Sinner: Bertolucci Had Already Predicted It All. The Detail of the Sun

Paolo Bertolucci analyzed the men’s Wimbledon final during a new episode of the podcast “La Telefonata,” which he co-hosts with his former doubles partner Adriano Panatta. The former Italian tennis player commented on Jannik Sinner’s comeback victory over Alexander Zverev, with the world No. 1 prevailing at the end of an intense match that was more evenly matched than many had expected.

Bertolucci first praised the German’s performance, especially in the early stages of the match: “It was a beautiful and exciting final. I had never seen Zverev play at this level for two hours, let alone on grass. I don’t think he’d even made it past the quarterfinals at Wimbledon before this year, yet he got off to an extraordinary start.”

According to the Sky commentator, the turning point came in the second-set tiebreak, when Sinner raised his game to an even higher level: “He played that tiebreak in a truly incredible way. Up until that point, the sun on the right side of the court was really bothering him, and he was struggling to read the return. Then he started to read the situation better, took control of the match, and from there Zverev didn’t stand a chance.”

Bertolucci finally recalled that he had accurately predicted the outcome of the final the day before: “I had said that Zverev could win a set in a tiebreak if he served well, but that the match would end in four sets.” That prediction proved accurate, with Sinner able to bounce back after losing the first set and win the title thanks to a performance that steadily improved.