Vukic hopes the touch of grass will be Sinner's undoing

Perth Now

3 days ago

On paper it is a mismatch, fortunately for Aleksandar Vukic he will be meeting Jannik Sinner, in the pick of Australia's quartet of Wimbledon day four second-round ties, on grass.
An old cliché perhaps, but in this case it has relevance because of all the surfaces tennis is played on, grass is the one the Australian believes gives him the best chance of dethroning the world No.1.
Vukic came into the grasscourt grand slam off the back of a terrible run of form.
Since beating then 22-ranked Sebastian Korda in the second round of the Australian Open in January he played 14 tour-level matches losing all but one of them - a victory over 149-ranked Nicolas Moreno De Alboran in Rome in May. And in the following game Korda avenged that Melbourne loss.
During this period the 29-year-old slipped from 67 to 93 in the rankings.
By contrast, since the start of January 2024, Sinner has played 101 matches losing nine. Five of those defeats have come against Carlos Alcaraz, three of the others have been against Andrey Rublev, Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas, all ranked in the top 12 at the time.
It is the outlier that gives Vukic hope, at Halle last month when the Italian lost to Alexander Bublik, ranked 45, at Halle on grass.
"If there's a surface and a time to do it, it's probably now," he said ahead of Thursday's match (local time).
"He's world No.1 for a reason. He didn't lose too many matches last year or this. If there's a surface to play him on it's probably this one, just because it's a bit more random, so more upsets can happen - hopefully I can be one of those."
Vukic played Sinner in 2021 and 2022, losing in straight sets on both occasions, but they were on hard courts.
"I think a hard court, when everything's in the perfect slot for him, that's where he feels at his most comfortable and you can't really get it out of his zone," added the Sydneysider.
"Grass, you move so different on it. That's why I might actually have a good chance to expose him, just because it is grass and no one moves amazingly yet.
"That's probably where I'll have more of an advantage than the previous times. Hopefully I can recognise that, but I'm going to have to play very well."
Vukic has been here before. He's faced a world No.1, losing to Novak Djokovic at Indian Wells last year, and played a Wimbledon show court when he faced Carlos Alcaraz in the same round on Court No.1 last year.
Vukic lost in straight sets, but took the first to a tie-break and feels that experience could be invaluable.
"That definitely helps. I remember last year going onto the court for the first time. It's a little bit surreal, but it's also a little bit more peaceful, less distracting, because the outside courts are quite chaotic with a lot going on around.
"The fans are very close, there's a lot going on from other matches as well. You hear kind of all the voices around."
"Maybe," he joked, "I'll ask to play him on Court 18, see how he gets on out there."
In reality the All England Club have scheduled the tie for prime time on Centre Court. Quite the stage for an upset.
"Things will have to go my way. I'm going to have to serve very well for sure. I'll have to take my chances but I've got nothing to lose. The pressure's on him."
The same applies to Ben Shelton, the US No.10 seed who Rinky Hijikata takes on, but also to Australia's No.1 man and woman, Alex de Minaur and Daria Kasatkina.
They will each be expected to progress against Arthur Cazaux and Irina-Camelia Begu respectively, who are both, co-incidentally, ranked 115th in the world.
AUSSIES IN ACTION ON DAY FOUR AT WIMBLEDON (prefix denotes seeding):Men's singles, second round
Aleksandar Vukic v 1-Jannik Sinner (ITA)
11-Alex de Minaur v Arthur Cazaux (FRA)
Rinky Hijikata v 10-Ben Shelton (USA)
Women's singles, second round
16-Daria Kasatkina v Irina-Camelia Begu (ROM)