Not everyone on Center Court could keep their eyes open for the Wimbledon final. As Jannik Sinner and Alexander Zverev traded blows in a gripping title match, the cameras panned to the Royal Box and an unlikely moment of calm amid one of the tensest afternoons of the tennis calendar. 

Sitting in the Royal Box, just behind HRH Prince William, the 1972 Wimbledon champion, Stan Smith, with his eyes firmly shut, appeared to have drifted off mid-match. Fans were quick to spot him as a snap of him snoozing made the rounds online. The timing makes it all the more amusing, as there was hardly anything to sleep on.

It was a high-octane final from the get-go, as world No. 1 Sinner and new world No. 2 Zverev faced off in the first set, and neither would back down. Zverev eventually edged it 7-6 (9-7) in a tie-break that swung on the finest of margins, both men striking the ball with such ferocity that commentators joked there would be no fluff left on the tennis balls by the end. 

To be fair to Smith, the 79-year-old American is one of the more distinguished figures to grace the Royal Box, and his place in tennis history is secure regardless of a mid-match snooze. In addition to the Wimbledon singles win in 1972, Smith won the US Open in 1971 and had one of the top doubles teams in history with Bob Lutz. His name, naturally, has transcended the sport, as the Adidas Stan Smith trainer has become one of the most iconic and best-selling shoes in history, making his legacy known to those who might never have seen him play. 

He was in good company alongside his wife in the Royal Box. Smith was among a cluster of former Wimbledon champions invited for the final, seated alongside the likes of Stefan Edberg, Lleyton Hewitt, Richard Krajicek, and Jan Kodes. The wider guest list was as glittering as ever, featuring the Prince and Princess of Wales with two of their children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, as well as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Italy’s sports minister Andrea Abodi, and Hollywood stars Dustin Hoffman, Nicole Kidman, and Ben Stiller. Kate, patron of the All England Club, was on hand to present the trophy to the winner. 

For all the star power surrounding him, it was Smith who was briefly stealing the show for funny reasons, a gentle reminder that even the sport’s greats are not immune from a warm afternoon in the sun. Zverev was chasing a rare Channel Slam double after his French Open win, and Sinner was after back-to-back titles. The two men were surely making their own history and producing the kind of drama that should have kept every eye in the house wide open, until it didn’t.