Jannik Sinner faced a tough challenge in the first round of The Championships, but defeated German Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 on Monday. Sinner will now face Berrettini in the second-round.
Top-seeded Sinner appeared in full control after two sets, but Hanfmann significantly reduced his errors to work his way into the match. Ultimately, 22-year-old Sinner’s power and poise were too much in a match which lasted just under 3 hours.
Despite dropping the third set, Sinner expressed satisfaction with his strong recovery, adding that he was thrilled to be making his Grand Slam debut as the World No. 1 at The All England Club.
“When you go a break down immediately, it’s tough to recover, but how I reacted in the fourth set was very positive. Ending the match in a positive way will hopefully help me in the next round,” the Italian said.
“It’s a huge privilege and honour to be in the position that I am, and there is no better place than here to play my first Grand Slam as World No. 1. It’s an amazing feeling, but every match starts at zero, zero, and every opponent wants to win, as I do.”
Sinner’s grass court season
Sinner now leads Hanfmann 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with both victories coming at majors in the past year. He dropped just five games to the German at last year’s US Open.
The World No. 1 made a quick start to the grass-court season two weeks ago in Halle, where he claimed his first tour-level title on the surface. Sinner has also performed well at SW19 in the past, having reached last year’s semi-finals.
Sinner will now prepare for an even tougher test against Matteo Berrettini, the former World No. 6 whose powerful serve and big forehand have been formidable on grass for years. The Roman Berrettini was a finalist at Wimbledon in 2021.
The Italian stars have been the faces of men’s tennis in their country since breaking onto the ATP Tour, but they have only met once. Sinner won their first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting last year in Toronto in straight sets.
Looking ahead to his second-round showdown, Sinner said, “It’s a tough one for sure. He played the final here and knows very well how to play on this surface, so it’s a big challenge for me.”
