About three hours and 45 minutes into his duel with Carlos Alcaraz three weeks ago, Jannik Sinner lowered himself into his return stance for what he hoped would be the last rally of a near-flawless fortnight. Sinner held three championship points for what would be one of the most monumental victories of his career.
Just one of those three would have earned him a first grand slam title away from hard courts and redefined the terms of engagement with Alcaraz, the only player to beat him for 10 months. Sinner would then have drawn level with the Spaniard on four grand slam titles.
