Jannik Sinner receives major boost to his Wimbledon chances as three key rivals crash out
Jannik Sinner confirmed his place in the fourth round of Wimbledon by defeating Jenson Brooksby in straight sets.
Since needing five sets to topple Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round, the Italian has not dropped a set against Nuno Borges and Brooksby.
The World No 1 will next play Shintaro Mochizuki, who stunned Rafael Jodar in four sets to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time in his career.
That is not the only upset on Friday’s order of play, however, and Sinner can count himself very lucky as his draw opened up while he was defeating Brooksby.
As well as Jodar’s exit at the hands of Mochizuki, Daniil Medvedev was also stunned by Jan-Lennard Struff in a surprising straight sets defeat.
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Medvedev looked nailed-on to be Sinner’s quarter-final opponent this year, so the Italian can count himself lucky at the grass court Grand Slam.
Medvedev’s surprise exit means Sinner will not have to play a player ranked inside the top 50 until the semi-final at the earliest, where he will likely play Novak Djokovic.
Sinner’s most likely quarter-final opponent now looks to be Hubert Hurkacz, who himself caused an upset in his third round match.
Jannik Sinner’s route to the Wimbledon final
- Fourth round: Shintaro Mochizuki (confirmed)
- Quarter final: Hubert Hurkacz
- Semi final: Novak Djokovic
- Final: Alexander Zverev
Hurkacz defeated Tommy Paul in four sets to confirm a fourth round match-up between Struff.
Both Struff and Hurkacz are currently ranked outside the top 50 of the ATP Tour rankings, with the Pole ranked World No 67 and the German currently sitting at World No 61.
While both men will cause Sinner problems, it is a major boost for Sinner to not have to play an in-form player in the latter stages of Wimbledon.
If you compare Sinner’s likely route to the Wimbledon final this year to what he faced last year, it makes it look like even more of a lucky break for the World No 1.
Sinner has to beat 19th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the fourth round, 10th seed Ben Shelton in the last eight, sixth seed Djokovic in the semi final, and second seed Carlos Alcaraz in the final.
Second seed Alexander Zverev, in contrast, could have to play Jiri Lehecka, Taylor Fritz, and Alex de Minaur to reach the final of this year’s Wimbledon.
That could be a huge advantage for Sinner of his rival and , on paper, Sinner will likely not get a better chance to win a Grand Slam than this year’s Wimbledon ever again in his career.
