Sinner reaches Wimbledon last-16

Express Tribune

21 hours ago

Jannik Sinner has been in imperious form at Wimbledon. PHOTO: AFP
Imperious Wimbledon top seed Jannik Sinner made short work of Spain's Pedro Martinez on Saturday, reaching the last 16 without dropping a set.
The Italian three-time Grand Slam champion eased past his 52nd-ranked opponent 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.
Sinner, 23, took a vice-like grip on the Centre Court match from the start, racing into a 5-0 lead.
Martinez was given a time-out at that point and received treatment on his shoulder before winning the next game to love on his own serve but Sinner wrapped up the set in the following game.
The second set was tighter until Sinner broke in the fifth game, repeating the feat to take the set.
Martinez required further treatment before the third set but it had little impact as Sinner raced into a 5-0 lead.
The Spaniard, 28, held up a finger after clawing a game back but that only delayed the inevitable.
Sinner will face either 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov or Sebastian Ofner in the fourth round at the All England Club.
Sinner has lost just 17 games in total across his three matches in the first week of Wimbledon, in contrast to defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, who has shown patchy form.
The Italian returned from a doping ban in May, losing the Italian Open final to Alcaraz and squandering three championship points against the same opponent in the French Open final.
His best performance at Wimbledon was a run to the semi-finals in 2023 and he reached the quarters last year.
Djokovic eyes Wimbledon century and Swiatek steps up challenge
Novak Djokovic can secure his 100th victory at Wimbledon on Saturday as the Serb sets his sights on tennis immortality, while Iga Swiatek seeks to take advantage of the mass exodus of women's seeds.
Seeking a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam crown, Djokovic is making his 20th appearance at Wimbledon and is aiming to reach the fourth round for the 17th time.
The seven-time champion, locked with the long-retired Margaret Court on 24 majors, dropped a set in his opening match but lost just five games in total in the second round against British wildcard Dan Evans.
A third-round clash against Serbian Davis Cup team-mate Miomir Kecmanovic will hold few fears for the sixth seed, who has not lost against his 49th-ranked compatriot in three previous meetings.
If Djokovic beats his compatriot he will reach a century of victories at the All England Club, a feat only surpassed by eight-time champion Roger Federer, who won 105 times on the lawns of southwest London and Martina Navratilova, who chalked up 120 victories.
"If I play like this, I feel like I have a very good chance against anybody, really, on the Centre Court of Wimbledon, a place where I maybe feel the most comfortable on any court," Djokovic said after beating Evans.
Djokovic's first Wimbledon win came against Argentine Juan Monaco 20 years ago, when Kecmanovic was aged just five.
"I saw him first at the Serbian Open and he was my idol. The more I played, the more I saw what he could do on court and the more I admired," Kecmanovic said.
Swiatek has quietly gone about her business at this year's Wimbledon but will have watched the exit of most of her top rivals with interest.
The five-time Grand Slam champion is seeded eighth at the All England club after slipping down the rankings, though she is now back in the world's top four after reaching the Bad Homburg final last week.
The Pole, who faces American Danielle Collins in the third round, has won at least one Grand Slam in four of the past five years, though she has never been beyond the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
But a glance at the draw makes interesting reading, with world number one Aryna Sabalenka the only player remaining from among the top six seeds.
Swiatek, who has won four titles on the French Open clay, was beaten by former Australian Open finalist Collins at the Italian Open in May.