World number one, Jannik Sinner, continues Wimbledon title defence with gritty straight-sets win over American Brooksby. Dimitrov outlasts Berrettini in a five-set epic.
World number one Jannik Sinner continued his quest to defend his Wimbledon title with a straight-sets win over American Jenson Brooksby in the third round on Friday.
The 24-year-old South Tyrolean beat the 25-year-old Sacramento-born Brooksby 6-4, 6-3, 6-4, needing three hours and 15 minutes to see off his tough opponent. The result sends Sinner, the favourite for the title once again, into the fourth round for the fifth year running.
Sinner admitted he had needed an unusually fiery response to get over the line, having let a break advantage and several match points slip before finally closing out the contest with a swiping cross-court forehand winner.
“Very unusual, but I needed that today,” Sinner said. “I was a break up, of course, trying to serve it out, couldn’t. Then we had some match points, couldn’t use them. So I tried to rush to the finish line. The crowd helped me today. Thanks for pushing me.”
Reflecting on the win more broadly, Sinner said he was “very happy and trying to improve every day, still working on a couple of things, and happy about the result against a very tough opponent.”
He will now face Japan’s Shintaro Mochizuki in the fourth round on Sunday, following the 20-year-old’s win over Spain’s Rafael Jodar. Sinner was quick to flag the dangers posed by Mochizuki’s low, skidding ball on grass.
“He’s a very good player, especially on grass,” Sinner said. “His ball is very low, so it helps a lot. Seems like a very, very aggressive player. Let’s see. We haven’t practised, we haven’t faced each other. Mostly I try to focus on my side of the net. I know that’s most important at the moment. But great win from him. Very dangerous player. I try to be as prepared as I can.”
Dimitrov edges past Berrettini in five-set thriller
Elsewhere on the grounds, Grigor Dimitrov and Matteo Berrettini served up what had been billed, even before a ball was struck, as a “pretty match”. It delivered, running to three hours and 32 minutes before Dimitrov finally served it out 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3.
Beyond the tennis, both men have endured painful recent years, with injuries repeatedly derailing their progress. Berrettini, a Wimbledon finalist in 2021, has seen his career disrupted by a string of recurring problems, most recently a hip issue that forced his retirement from the Roland-Garros quarter-final last month. His serve-driven game remains well suited to grass, however, and he fought his way back into Friday’s contest, converting all three of his break points along the way.
In the end it was the 35-year-old Dimitrov who had the edge, striking 46 winners to just 25 unforced errors and moving, by the end, like a man 15 years his junior.
