Jannik Sinner has kept his hopes of claiming his first Wimbledon title alive by coming through a roller-coaster battle against former finalist Matteo Berrettini.
The world No.1 was put through his paces during his late-night 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6, victory on Center Court that didn’t conclude until 10:32pm. He has now won 52 matches in Grand Slams, which is more than any other active player from Italy, and extends his season win-loss record to 40-3. It is also the third time Sinner has reached the last 32 or better at SW19 out of four appearances.
“We are very good friends. We play the Davis Cup together. We practice together. It’s very tough we had to face (each other) in round two,” Sinner said afterwards.
“Today was a high-level match. We both played really well. In three tiebreaks I sometimes got a bit lucky (but) I’ll take it.”
Sinner initially had the edge during a tense first two sets where there were just two breaks of serve in 24 games, one for each player. However, Berrettini illustrated once again why he is a danger on the grass by surging through the third set with the help of a series of costly errors coming from across the court.
Proceedings looked to be heading into a fifth set after Berrettini stuck once again early in the fourth frame to break. However, Sinner responded instantly in the cat-and-mouse tussle but his frustration started to grow. When leading 5-4, he threw his racket at a ball after being outmanoeuvred by his compatriot. A rare sight to see from the 22-year-old.
In a match of fine margins, a Berrettini double fault handed the top seed match point but he failed to convert as a third tiebreaker beckoned. Then another mistake from the world No.59, this time from the forehand side, handed Sinner the pivotal break as he went on to convert his third match point opportunity.
“I knew I had to raise my level here, he is a grass-court specialist,” Sinner commented on his rival.
“He made the final here. I looked forward to it. It was a challenge but I am happy with how I managed it.”
Playing as the top seed at Wimbledon for the first time, Sinner paid a touching tribute to the tournament.
“For me, it’s a big honour to play here in such an incredible venue.” He said.
“I had my first match on Centre court. It’s really special. The support has been amazing.”
Sinner will play Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round.
