It was a struggle, but still

a three-set victory! Jannik Sinner advances at Wimbledon

Jannik Sinner(Bild: AFP/GLYN KIRK)

The top stars in the singles competitions at the All England Tennis Championships in Wimbledon—with a prize purse of 64.2 million pounds—securely advanced to the third round on Wednesday! Jannik Sinner faced some difficulty only in the second set against Portugal’s Nuno Borges, but advanced 7–6(4), 7-6(2), 6-4. Aryna Sabalenka defeated American McCartney Kessler 6-1, 7-6(9). She will now face Jelena Ostapenko, while Sinner will take on American Jenson Brooksby.

After his narrow five-set victory over Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match, Sinner only had to play catch-up in the second set after losing his serve to fall behind 1–2. At 5-4, Borges served for the set and even had a set point, but the South Tyrolean managed to break back and also won the second tiebreak. Sinner was always able to step up his game at the key moments, and this time he avoided dropping a set.

Sinner: “I’m very happy”
“Overall, in matches like this where you have little control,I’mvery happy about the win,”Sinner said with a sigh of relief in his on-court interview. “Especially on this surface, I’ve now secured two wins (this week, ed.). Of course, we’ll see what the future holds, but I’m very satisfied with the result. There are a few things we need to improve, but I’m very happy,” he said after taking the second step toward successfully defending his title.

Aryna Sabalenka(Bild: AP/Kin Cheung)

Sabalenka also came back from a deficit to avoid losing a set. The Belarusian player, who has never won the title at Wimbledon, rallied from a 2-5 deficit in the second set. “She played at an incredible level in the second set,” Sabalenka noted. “She really challenged me today, and I’m happy that I passed the test.”

Medvedev Needed Some Time to Get Going
In the men’s draw, Russia’s Daniil Medvedev also advanced to the third round. The former world No. 1 needed some time to get going against Spain’s Daniel Merida before ultimately clearing the second hurdle relatively comfortably with a 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 victory. For much of the match, Medvedev—who is aiming for his second Grand Slam title following his 2021 U.S. Open victory—seemed as though tennis was more of a chore to him.

“I lost my rhythm a bit at the start,” Medvedev said afterward. But in the fourth set, he cheered loudly when he broke the Spaniard’s serve twice and applauded the crowd as he sealed the match with a strong serve. “My serve didn’t let me down today,” he noted.