2024 has been for Jannik Sinner what 2011 was for Novak Djokovic, 2006 was for Roger Federer, and 2010 was for Rafael Nadal. The Italian sensation might not have achieved close to what these tennis behemoths achieved in those respective years, but he’s been nothing short of a revelation this year.
Before the second round of the Wimbledon Championships, Jannik Sinner had played 18 consecutive Grand Slam matches since the start of the US Open and had won 16 of them. This includes a 12-match winning streak from the start of the Australian Open to the semifinal of the 2024 French Open.
Jannik Sinner Overcomes Italian Comrade
Jannik Sinner had a better win percentage on his first serve than Matteo Berrettini in their Wimbledon second round clash, but Berrettini hit 28 aces, 17 more than the world No. 1 scored. Sinner took the first two sets with two tiebreaks while Berrettini returned the favor in the third set to force Sinner into needing a fourth set.
Matteo Berrettini broke Sinner’s serve early in the fourth set, looking like the big Italian was going to successfully stage a comeback and force a fifth set. Jannik Sinner broke back almost immediately and dragged the set into a tiebreak, the third tiebreak of the match.
Jannik Sinner took a decisive lead in the fourth set tiebreak on serve, 6-3, producing three match points on Berrettini’s serve. Berrettini saved the first match point with a blistering ace, making Sinner need one more opportunity to send him through to the third round of the Wimbledon Championships.
Jannik Sinner succeeded in breaking Matteo Berrettini’s serve twice in 10 opportunities while Berrettini secured four breaks of Sinner’s serve in seven opportunities. Yet, Sinner showed up when it counted the most to send his compatriot packing from London.
Although Berrettini ended up on the losing side, he deserved a lot of credit for taking the match to the world No. 1.
Friends Off The Court, Opponents On It
This Wimbledon second round meeting between Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini is the second ever meeting between the two Italians since the second round of the Canadian Masters in 2023. Sinner won on that occasion. He then went on to win the title that year in Toronto.
The Wimbledon encounter was a fiery contest between two forehand behemoths. Matteo Berrettini used to be Italy’s biggest tennis star before injury, in a period where he clawed his way to a Grand Slam final against Novak Djokovic.
Persistent injuries hampered Berrettini’s progress in recent months. On return from injury, Berrettini went on to win the Grand Prix Hassan II title in April. He then went on to charge to the final of the Stuttgart Open which he had won twice before, this time losing to Jack Draper in a hard-fought final. Before the Wimbledon encounter between the two, Sinner and his team had to take Berrettini’s resurgence into account.
“We have spoken with the team a lot and I knew I had to raise my level. 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.”
This year, Jannik Sinner has won the Australian Open, Rotterdam Open, Miami Open, and Halle Open. He has also gotten to and lost in the semifinals of three tournaments including the French Open which he lost to Carlos Alcaraz. Sinner will face Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round of the Wimbledon Championships.
For Jannik Sinner, the clash was more of a meeting of brothers than a war of competitors. The warmth of the embrace at the net at the end of the match proved it.
“First of all we are very good friends. We played Davis Cup together and we practice 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.”
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