Jannik Sinner emerged victorious in a thrilling all-Italian battle on Centre Court, defeating Matteo Berrettini to advance to the third round at Wimbledon.
The world number one clinched the win in three tie-breaks, finishing with a score of 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-4), 2-6, 7-7 (7-4). The tightly contested match concluded just 27 minutes before the All England Club’s 23:00 BST curfew.
Berrettini, who reached the Wimbledon final in 2021, has long been a prominent figure in Italian tennis. However, 22-year-old Sinner has risen in the ranks, surpassing his Davis Cup teammate.
“We are very good friends, we play Davis Cup together, sometimes we practise together,” Sinner commented. “It is very tough we had to face in the second round of such an important tournament.”
Berrettini, 28, was ranked world number nine when he became Italy’s first men’s singles finalist at Wimbledon three years ago. He has since dropped to 59th due to injury issues that led him to miss the Australian Open and Roland Garros this year. Despite these setbacks, Berrettini’s serve remained powerful, delivering 28 aces compared to Sinner’s 10.
Sinner dominated the first two tie-breaks, while Berrettini, energized by the crowd, took the third set. Sinner then regained his momentum, ultimately securing the win in the fourth set tie-break after three hours and 42 minutes of play.
“Today was a very high level match, I think we both played really well,” Sinner said. “It’s quite late so thanks for staying.”
Sinner is set to face Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic, who defeated Dutch 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor, in the next round.
In other matches, defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz delighted fans on Court One with a win over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic. Alcaraz and Vukic had a thrilling opening set before the Spaniard took control, ending with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-2 victory. The 21-year-old aims to secure back-to-back major titles after his French Open triumph last month.
“I’m really happy about my performance today,” Alcaraz said. “The first set was the key for me to pull out all the nerves. It was really close.”
Alcaraz will next play American 29th seed Frances Tiafoe, who he defeated in the 2022 US Open semi-finals. “We played a really good match in the US Open. I know that he is a really talented player, he is even tougher here on grass with his style,” Alcaraz noted. “It’s going to be a really difficult match for me but I’m ready to take that challenge, I’m ready to play a really high level of tennis.”
Tiafoe secured his spot in the third round with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-1, 6-3 victory over Croatia’s Borna Coric.
