Tennis News

Sinner finds way past Berrettini, reaches third round at Wimbledon

Italian Jannik Sinner earned a statement win at Wimbledon on Wednesday when he defeated countryman and former finalist Matteo Berrettini 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(4) in an absorbing second-round clash.

Meeting for just the second time, both players ripped the ball from the baseline and looked to gain the first strike in the exchanges. There was little to separate the pair but Sinner drew backhand errors from Berrettini at key times, while he rallied from a break down in the second and fourth sets to reach the third round at Wimbledon after three hours and 45 minutes.

With his victory that came just 27 minutes before the 11 p.m. curfew, the top seed improved his perfect tour-level record against Italians to 14-0.

“First of all we are very good friends,” Sinner said. “We played Davis Cup together and we practise together, so it is very very tough we had to face in the second round in such an important tournament. Today was a very high-level match. In three tie-breaks I got a little bit lucky and I take it for today.”

𝗙𝗢𝗥𝗭𝗔 🇮🇹 @janniksin<a href=”https://twitter.com/Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon | <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/Wimbledon?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/6BoYr1XqJ3

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 3, 2024

Berrettini spent the majority of time from 2019-2022 as the Italian No. 1, reaching the Wimbledon final in 2021. In June 2022, the eight-time tour-level titlist dropped out of the Top 10, with Sinner passing his countryman in the opposite direction two weeks later.

Since then, World No. 1 Sinner defeated Berrettini en route to winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and then clinched his first major crown at the Australian Open in January. In contrast, World No. 59 Berrettini has missed large periods through injury, with his best result a title run in Marrakech in April.

In a tight clash between two of Italy’s best-ever players, Sinner struck 32 winners and committed 25 unforced errors to earn his 40th tour-level win of the season. He withstood 28 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points.

“We have spoken with the team a lot and I knew I had to raise my level,” Sinner said. “He played the final here and is a grass-court specialist. I was looking forward to it and it was a challenge to come on court and I am very happy with how I handled the situation. There were some ups and downs, which is normal in a five-set [match], but I am happy.”

Sinner, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last season, is chasing his second major title and Tour-leading fifth crown of the year. The former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion will next play Miomir Kecmanovic after the Serbian beat 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor 4-6, 7-6(7), 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.

Sinner arrived in west London off the back of winning the title at the ATP 500 grass-court event in Halle. The 22-year-old has battled hard in his opening two matches at SW19, where he also eliminated Yannick Hanfmann in four sets.

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Osaka beaten by Navarro as Gauff goes through

Naomi Osaka pays the price for too many errors as she loses in straight sets to Emma Navarro.

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From couch to Centre Court – Fearnley eyes Djokovic shock

Britain’s Jacob Fearnley remembers watching from the sofa when Novak Djokovic lost in the 2013 Wimbledon final – now he plays the seven-time champion.

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Aussie Open champs Bopanna/Ebden begin Wimbledon title quest

Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden are up and running at Wimbledon, where they are chasing their second major title of 2024.

The Indian-Australian duo defeated Sander Arends and Robin Haase 7-5, 6-4 in Wednesday’s opening round action at the All England Club. Already champions at the Australian Open and in Miami this year, Bopanna and Ebden are aiming for their fifth team title. Ebden won the 2022 Wimbledon crown alongside countryman Max Purcell.

Up next for the third team in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin is German pair Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens, who overcame Pavel Kotov and Cristian Rodriguez 7-6(3), 7-6(3). 

In other action, a pair of Top 10 seeds suffered first-round upsets. Nicolas Barrientos and Francisco Cabral ousted 10th seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 7-6(4), 7-6(8) while Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten upset fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 6-4.

Eighth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz were 6-4, 6-2 winners against Luciano Darderi and Fernando Romboli. ‘s-Hertogenbosch champions Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, seeded 12th, won the all-American clash against Marcos Giron and Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-2.

Andy Murray and brother Jamie Murray will take Centre Court Thursday when they face Rinky Hijikata and John Peers.

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Machac rallies from 0-5 down in fifth set to earn stunning Wimbledon win

Tomas Machac will not soon forget his start to the 2024 edition of The Championships.

Originally scheduled to face Andy Murray on Centre Court in the first round before the former World No. 1’s withdrawal, Machac rallied from 0-5 in the fifth set to defeat lucky loser David Goffin 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(10-5) on Wednesday.

Machac had his back against the wall for much of the match, which was contested over two days. Goffin took a 6-3, 4-2 lead before play was suspended Tuesday evening. Machac lost the first two sets and trailed by a break on three separate occasions in the third set.

But the No. 39 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who did not face a match point, rallied past the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up in three hours and 17 minutes. Both men earned nine service breaks in the match.

Machac will next play 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Roman Safiullin, who also advanced from two sets down. Safiullin eliminated 26th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

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Alcaraz roars into round three

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beats Aleksandar Vukic on court one to move into the third round of Wimbledon 2024.

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Rune's mentality: 'Perform, fight & believe in yourself'

Holger Rune cut a confident figure Tuesday at Wimbledon, where he cruised through the first round of The Championships. The Danish star was in control throughout his straight-sets victory against Soonwoo Kwon and looked ready to make a push at the grass-court major.

It is not long ago that the 21-year-old suffered one of his most difficult defeats. Rune was one game from defeating Alexander Zverev in the Roland Garros fourth round. Zverev found a way to win and nearly claimed the title, while Rune went home.

The 2023 Nitto ATP Finals competitor did not allow the loss to keep him down.

“I think it’s important to take the learning from it. If you just avoid it 100 per cent you’re kind of hiding the truth a little bit so I think it’s important to learn from it, but at the same time move on because you can’t stay and [not] reset for like a week,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “Then it’ll just get to you and hurt you even more and do not good for you. So I think it’s about taking the learning quickly and talking about it. Then just move on and improve.”

Watch ATP Origins: The Rise Of Holger Rune

There were plenty of positives. Rune has made clear since his early days on the ATP Tour that he wants to triumph at the highest levels of the sport and he was on the verge of defeating someone who reached the final and had opportunities to defeat Carlos Alcaraz for the Coupe des Mousquetaires.

“Definitely it was much better that tournament than the rest of the tournaments I played in the clay season. I also felt like Monaco and the French Open were the tournaments where I was putting the best level together and definitely performing like that in the French Open gave me a lot of motivation,” Rune said. “But at the same time, super disappointed because I wanted to do better.

“But it’s always good to see the guy you lose to make the final and have a chance to win. So the good thing is it’s getting better. I’m improving and [I have] just got to trust the process.”

Rune reached a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings last August, but is now World No. 15. That is not something that detracts from his confidence, though.

“No, no, no, I still have the same belief and there is still hope for the tournament as I would have if I was higher seeded,” Rune said. “I have extremely high ambitions for myself and I will try to live up to them.”

In discussing his opening-round win against Kwon, Rune admitted to feeling nerves early on.

“There are always nerves when you enter an event like this. There are a few doubts, there’s everything,” Rune said. “But I had a good preparation and you’ve got to trust that 100 per cent and trust that you’ve done the work outside the scene and now it’s just perform, fight and stay in there and believe in yourself. That’s what I have to do right now.”

Rune will next play Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who rallied from two sets down in his opening match. The Dane will try to advance even further than he did at SW19 last year, when he battled to the quarter-finals.

“[The tournament is] very special. It’s so historical,” Rune said of Wimbledon. “I had great memories last year making the quarters and that’s pretty much it. It means a lot to be back.”

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'A great moment for our country' – Sinner and Berrettini go head-to-head

Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini tell BBC Sport about their rivalry as they prepare to face each other in an all-Italian second-round contest at Wimbledon.

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Rain delays start of Wednesday’s play at Wimbledon

Wednesday morning rain has delayed the start of second-round action at Wimbledon, where play on uncovered courts is currently suspended until at least 11:45 a.m. local time (BST).

When the weather clears, six men’s singles matches will begin on uncovered courts at the All England Club, including eighth seed Casper Ruud’s clash against Fabio Fognini on No. 2 Court.

Regardless of the weather, the action will begin at 1:30 p.m. on Centre Court and 1:00 p.m. on No. 1 Court, due to both stadiums being fitted with a retractable roof.

The No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings Daniil Medvedev will take on Alexandre Muller in the first match on Centre Court, where top seed Jannik Sinner later meets 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini in an all-Italian blockbuster. It will be the pair’s second Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting after Sinner’s win in straight sets in Toronto last year.

On No. 1 Court, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz faces Aleksandar Vukic in the second match of the day.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Blumberg & Ruud: A friendship & doubles tandem at Wimbledon

The doubles draw at Wimbledon is studded with star players, from the top doubles tandems to singles standouts like Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas. One of the most interesting duos is three-time major finalist Casper Ruud and his longtime friend, William Blumberg.

Why is the No. 8 player in the PIF ATP Rankings teaming with an American who went to the University of North Carolina? Ruud and Blumberg’s story dates back to their days as juniors.

“He was the No. 1 junior in the world at a point I was No. 4. And really it started a lot when I went on a trip to Chengdu, China for the ITF Junior Masters,” Blumberg said. “We hung out a lot there. We went to a panda sanctuary and we joked around. And then as we got older, we stayed in touch a bit, but not very much.

“After college, we reconnected and hung out. We bond over the same things, we’re pretty similar. We both love golf, obsess over golf and play golf. He’s unbelievable at golf, and I try. So we have a lot of the same things, similar values. His girlfriend’s friends with my wife now… just a nice friendship.”

Blumberg, now 26, and Ruud, 25, were also close with Miomir Kecmanovic and the memories they created together in their teens keeps them close today. Blumberg, a three-time ATP Tour doubles titlist, has partnered both and claimed a crown with Kecmanovic in 2022 at Los Cabos.

“I left school at 14, so just like them, they were doing online school. You travel every week. So when you see each other and you have guys that are similar, you have the same values and you just reconnect,” Blumberg said. “So it’s nice, you’re all trying to achieve similar things. And so that’s obviously important as well, but it’s really nice.”

Last year, Blumberg spent a week in Norway with Ruud between Roland Garros and Wimbledon.

“We talked about me visiting Norway because it’s amazing there. It’s amazing in the summer, it was my first time. And we just found a week that made sense,” Blumberg said. “I had a week where I wasn’t playing a tournament and he was like, ‘Hey, come practise’. For me, it was a great opportunity to practise with one of the best players in the world and a good friend of mine. So yeah, it was amazing. And my wife came and his girlfriend was there. And so we just had a really nice time.”

Not only does Blumberg enjoy spending time on court with his friend, but he is also able to learn from competing with one of the best players in the world.

“It’s great. I would argue that he has one of the best forehands on the planet Earth, maybe the best forehand on the planet Earth. So for me to watch that, watch his preparation, [is great],” Blumberg said. “Honestly, just having the opportunity to play with a player like him and really be at the Slams and watch all the top players, watch all the top Americans that have come up that I knew when I was young, just watch them, watch them work and watch these top guys. And for me to watch him up close is amazing.

“He’s given me a lot of great opportunities… I thank him for that, but it’s also nice just playing with a friend.”

Blumberg has also bonded with Ruud over their love of golf. But beyond sports, the 10-time college All-American pointed to his Norwegian friend’s character.

“To be honest, I’m a pretty reasonable person, we’re on different levels,” Blumberg said. “He treats everyone kindly with respect as do a lot of the guys that I grew up with. But to be that same guy at that level… it’s good. But it’s a little bit of a grander scale for him. And so for him to still be like that, if he sat down with you, he’d treat you with the same respect that anyone would and I think that tells a lot about him as a person.”

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