With just one men’s match on Centre Court, World No.1 and tournament favourite Jannik Sinner will take to Court 1 for one of the few times this tournament. The Italian is likely to maintain the top spot for a with only a title for Djokovic or Alcaraz combined with a very early exit seeing him drop down the rankings. He will play Yannick Hanfmann in what should be a fairly routine opener.
Hanfmann is yet to win a match at Wimbledon, failing to qualify three times and going 0-2 in main draws. He is more of a clay player, where his smart tennis gets rewarded more regularly. He went 2-3 on grass this year across qualifying and main draws this year, beating Stuttgart wildcard Henri Squire and Adam Walton – both of which are ranked outside of the top 100.
Sinner bounced back from his French Open disappointment with a top performance in Halle, winning the title. He did have to come through tight three setters early on before beating Hubert Hurkacz in two tiebreak sets in the final. The injury woes that hung over him in Paris are also gone with the Italian feeling well heading into the tournament. “Here I have no doubts about my body. We have been working a lot in the last days. I’m not concerned about my body shape. I’m just happy to be here and hopefully ready to compete.” he said.
Early rounds in the best of five format for top players are generally going to be about getting things done with the least stress possible. Hanfmann will look to frustate Sinner in the early stages but he is unlikely to be able to deal with the power of the Italian in the long run.
Prediction – Jannik Sinner in straight sets
