Wimbledon: Sinner overcomes Borges in straight sets, breaks Italian Grand Slam record
London, July 1
Defending champion Jannik Sinner produced a much-improved display to move into the third round of Wimbledon, defeating Portugal's Nuno Borges 7-6, 7-6, 6-4 on Centre Court and setting up a clash with American Jenson Brooksby.
After being pushed to five sets by Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match, the World No. 1 showed a much stronger performance on Wednesday. He raised his game in the key moments, breaking back when Borges served for the second set at 5-4. He finished the match in two hours and 32 minutes.
This win was important beyond Wimbledon. It marked Sinner's 95th Grand Slam main-draw win, moving him past Nicola Pietrangeli for the most Grand Slam match wins by an Italian player.
At 24 years old, he is also trying to make history at the All England Club. He aims to be only the 10th man in the Open Era to defend the Wimbledon title, two years after his rival Carlos Alcaraz achieved this.
Unlike his tough opener, Sinner appeared more at ease against the World No. 48. He ended the match with 47 winners and 30 unforced errors. Even though he briefly handed Borges a break in the third set with a shaky service game, the Italian had already taken control by breaking twice early in the set.
Sinner mentioned that he is still finding his rhythm on grass since he chose not to play a warm-up tournament before Wimbledon. "Especially in the first round, I felt the lack of matches," Sinner said. "Also, today there were a couple of moments. I need to get back into this rhythm. If we look at the scoreboard, it was very close, so these matches, and especially the individual sets, help me a lot."
The defending champion believes he can still improve as the tournament goes on. "Of course, we aim to get a little better. Tomorrow is a day off. Yesterday I didn't do much because my first match was five sets and very long, so I'm happy about today."
— IANS
Reader Comments
Great to see Sinner improving match by match. But I feel he's still not at his peak—those double faults in the third set were concerning. Grass is tricky and not playing a warm-up might cost him against a tougher opponent like Brooksby.
It's amazing how Sinner keeps breaking records at just 24! Pietrangeli's record stood for decades. This Italian golden generation in tennis is something else—Sinner, Berrettini, Musetti. India needs to learn from their tennis development system.
Borges played really well for a player ranked 48. Those two tiebreaks could have gone either way. Sinner's ability to raise his game when it matters most is what makes him world No. 1. The Brooksby match will be interesting—he's a tricky customer.
Sinner is a machine! 47 winners vs 30 unforced errors shows controlled aggression. But honestly, I'm more excited about Brooksby—that guy has incredible variety and could push Sinner deep. Wimbledon is wide open this year with Alcaraz looking shaky 🎾🔥
Respect to Sinner for breaking the Italian record, but let's be real—Pietrangeli played in a different era with fewer tournaments and different surfaces. Still, 95 wins at 24 is phenomenal. The defending champion tag will add pressure though.
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