​Jannik Sinner delivered the drama-free victory he was craving by dispatching Jenson Brooksby in straight sets to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round. After a grueling start to the tournament that included a fall and a bloodied foot in a five-set marathon with Miomir Kecmanovic in round one, followed by a two-and-a-half-hour match that went to two tie-breaks against Nuno Borges, the Italian’s 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 win in two hours and 14 minutes was a welcome relief.
“I’m very happy about the win,” Sinner said. “I’m trying to improve every day; it’s a small step forward today. I’m trying to get better if I want to go far in this tournament.”
There were a few tense moments, even as Brooksby, arriving in London this summer on a nine-match losing streak, kept things competitive. The normally impassive world number one even showed rare emotion on match point, gesturing toward the crowd by pointing to his ear to rally support.
Sinner found himself on Court One while Novak Djokovic contended on Centre Court, fighting off three break points in the second set before a quickbreak to love swung momentum in his favor. Early in the third, a Sinner double fault drew gasps and gave Brooksby another break point, which he seized with a fierce backhand winner down the line and a celebratory leap. It looked like trouble for the 24-year-old, but Sinner broke back immediately, and Brooksby’s subsequent double-fault handed Sinner another chance to serve for the match.
Brooksby offered one last push, converting a break point with a well-constructed rally ending in a deft volley. It was a brief lifeline, though, as two match points were saved by Brooksby’s serve only for Sinner to cancel the threat with a finishing forehand rocket after Brooksby voiced his ear gesture to the crowd.
Asked about the gesture, Sinner replied, “I don’t know. That was very unusual – but I needed that today. I was a break up and couldn’t serve it out, I tried to rush to the finish line. It helped me today. Thanks for pushing me.”
Sinner now advances to round four, where he will face Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, who defeated Spain’s Rafael Jodar. “We’ve never played. Let’s see,” Sinner commented. “Whoever is in the fourth round of a Grand Slam deserves to be there.”