After “making friends with the grass,” Jannik Sinner breezes past Kecmanovic to win 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. The world no. 1 is at the top of his game.
Bublik is defeated 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 by Tommy Paul.
Distribute
Nothing can concentrate the mind quite like a deadline. Entering Centre Court here shortly after 7.30 p.m. on Friday, Jannik Sinner faced Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round. He knew he would have less than three and a half hours to finish the match before the curfew at 11 p.m. There wasn’t much room for error after it took him three hours and forty-two minutes to defeat fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini in the first round.
As it occurred, there was never a chance that the game would be postponed. Conditions were calm due to the roof being closed from the rain, and world No. 1 Sinner played with his usual efficiency, finishing matches quickly (6-1, 6-4, 6-2) and securing his spot in the round of 16 with the least amount of drama.
Sinner, who will next portray either Canadian Denis Shapovalov or American Ben Shelton, expressed his happiness with his performance today. “I thought I was hitting the ball quickly enough.” I’m relieved to have it over with, and now that I’m recovering well, let’s see what happens in the next round.
Sinner said one of his instructors, Darren Cahill, has been giving him some pointers on how to be successful on the surface. Sinner had his best run here last year when he made it to the semi-finals. “To establish camaraderie with the grass,” he grinned. “Darren tells me this all the time. Treat the grass with kindness, and good things will come of it.
Sinner had defeated Kecmanovic in all three of their prior meetings, and any momentum the Serbian might have had was quickly destroyed when Sinner broke in the opening game and easily took the opening set in just twenty-one minutes. Kecmanovic, ranked fifty-two, improved in the second set, but Sinner patiently waited, breaking in the ninth game to win the match.
Sinner took the lead early in the third set thanks to another break, and he easily won the remaining games to seal the victory. In the last game, he had his lone break point of the match, but he saved it with a stunning running forehand. Really speaking, Kecmanovic never had a
