Incredible Jannik Sinner stat equals Open Era record that ‘Big 3’, Carlos Alcaraz cannot match
It was not an easy victory for Jannik Sinner, but the world No 1 got the job done against Matteo Berrettini to reach the third round of Wimbledon.
The reigning Australian Open was certainly not handed an easy draw in the form of Berrettini, a former finalist at the tournament, but a 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(4) proved to be enough to keep his quest alive.
There will be even bigger tests to come for Sinner if he wants to win a second major title of 2024 this fortnight but, after a year where he has consistently made history, he has written himself into the record books.
Sinner’s triumph was a second win against compatriot Berrettini in their two matches, but was a 14th win overall against Italian players – in as many matches.
Only two men in the Open Era have won that many matches against compatriots without tasting defeat – and Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Carlos Alcaraz are not among them.
Italian dominance
The Australian Open champion’s victory over Berrettini on Wednesday followed a straight-sets triumph for him over the former world No 6 at the Canada Open last year – a tournament he ultimately won.
But it is not only his head-to-head against Berrettini that remains unblemished at the time of writing.
Five of the 22-year-old’s wins over Italian players have come against Lorenzo Sonego, with all those matches coming since the start of the 2023 season.
Sinner beat Sonego in Montpellier, Halle, the US Open, and Vienna last season, before dropping just three games in a dominant victory at the Madrid Open this spring.
Special to share Centre Court with you Matteo look forward to many more pic.twitter.com/8JhSbB8kd7
— Jannik Sinner (@janniksin) July 4, 2024
Elsewhere, the world No 1 has a 2-0 head-to-head lead over Lorenzo Musetti and won his only matches against Fabio Fognini and Andrea Vavassori, among others.
He is only the third man to go 14 matches against compatriots in the professional era – and you have to trawl back through time to find the other two.
One of them is a tennis icon in the form of Guillermo Vilas, the greatest Argentine player in history who won four Grand Slam titles, while the other is South Africa’s Bob Hewitt.
His compatriots will certainly look to stop him sooner rather than later but having lost just three times this season, that won’t be an easy task.
Jannik Sinner’s head-to-head versus Italians
Lorenzo Sonego: 5-0
Matteo Berrettini: 2-0
Lorenzo Musetti: 2-0
Andrea Vavassori: 1-0
Franco Agamenone: 1-0
Fabio Fognini: 1-0
Gianluca Mager: 1-0
Stefano Travaglia: 1-0
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