World number one Jannik Sinner’s seamless start to his bid for a first Wimbledon title continued with a dominant straight-set win over Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic.
Italy’s Sinner, 23, lost just five games in another commanding display on Centre Court as he overpowered his 93rd-ranked opponent in just 100 minutes to reach the third round.
The three-time major winner won 6-1 6-1 6-3, having conceded only seven games in his opening match, as he offered another ominous warning to his rivals.
Spain’s world number 52, Pedro Martinez, is his next opponent as he edges closer to a tantalising semi-final showdown against Novak Djokovic.
“Every opponent is very difficult. Third-round matches in Grand Slams are always special. We saw there have been so many upsets this tournament, so we will try to stay focused and raise our level,” said Sinner.
“Today I thought the level was one good point. I can improve a few things, but I am looking forward to it.”
Seven-time champion Djokovic reached the third round by beating Britain’s Dan Evans on Thursday, while Australian world number 11 Alex de Minaur was among those to also progress.
But British world number four Jack Draper, American Tommy Paul, Czech player Tomas Machac and Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime became the latest seeded players to exit the men’s draw – meaning just 13 of the 32 seeds remain.
Imperious Sinner building momentum
Since achieving the level of consistency which has brought him to a 56th consecutive week as world number one, Sinner has rarely lost to any player not named Carlos Alcaraz.
A surprise Halle Open defeat by Alexander Bublik in June, which cut short Sinner’s brief grass-court build-up following defeat in the French Open final, was his first loss to anyone other than his Spanish rival in 10 months – and to anyone outside of the top 20 in 67 matches.
Having never been beaten by a player ranked as low as Vukic at Grand Slam tournaments, Sinner’s progress never appeared under threat once he took charge on Centre Court.
Sinner was the first player to face a break point in his second service game, but Vukic, who has never reached the third round at the All England Club, was powerless to prevent his progress from that point.
Delighting the crowd with fierce hitting and trademark precision, Sinner proceeded to take 12 of 13 games from there as he captured the first two sets in just 54 minutes.
Aiming to reach the third round for a fourth consecutive year in the early stages of his bid to become the first Italian player to win a Wimbledon singles title, Sinner had to cope with the will of the crowd turning against him as Vukic offered resistance in the third set.
But he recovered from a brief lapse – and two break points – to make the ultimately decisive breakthrough in the eighth game.
He still had to endure the frustration of going from a fifth match point to break point but, after saving that with a stunning passing forehand winner and calling for more noise from the crowd, Sinner polished off victory at the sixth opportunity with an ace.
It means Sinner has conceded the fewest number of games over the first two rounds of the Wimbledon men’s singles at Wimbledon since record eight-time champion Roger Federer lost just nine in 2004.
More seeds fall as upsets continue
Exits for the seeded players continued on day four as Draper, Paul, Machac and Auger-Aliassime all fell to lower-ranked opponents.
Draper was beaten in four sets by Croatia’s Marin Cilic, while Paul fell 1-6 7-5 6-4 7-5 to Austria’s Sebastian Ofner.
Machac lost a five set marathon in a match tie-break against Denmark’s August Holmgren 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (8-10) 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 7-6 (10-5), and Auger-Aliassime lost 3-6 7-6 (11-9) 6-3 6-4 to Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff.
But De Minaur battled back after losing the first set to the 115th-ranked Frenchman Arthur Cazaux to win 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0, a day after he watched fiancée and British number two Katie Boulter go out at the same stage.
“It’s not nice. I felt for Katie yesterday, and I’ve been in those positions myself. It’s not easy to forget about it. It’s something that kind of stays with you,” said De Minaur.
“On my side, there’s obviously the part of doing my best to comfort her and try to be there for her the same way she is there for me through the good stuff and the bad stuff. It definitely does have an impact on yourself.”
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