Closing out Day 3 on Centre Court is a potentially interesting match between Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini. The World No.1 will be hoping to repeat or better the feat of his countryman, who made the final back in 2021. He leads the head to head 1-0 currently, having won in straight sets in Canada last year.
Berrettini does look to be finding his way back after an injury hit couple of years. He has already made three finals on the year, winning in Marrakech and losing in Stuttgart and Phoenix (Challenger). The Italian is probably one of the purest grass courters at his best and will have taken a lot of confidence from the Stuttgart run, even with falling at the last hurdle. He began his tournament here with a four setter Marton Fucsovics, hitting 11 aces in the 7-6 6-2 3-6 6-1 win.
Sinner was also a winner in four sets, taking out Yannick Hanfmann 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3. A third set blip was not ideal but he was nearly always in control of the match, with his power helping him on his way to 47 winners overall. “When you go a break down immediately it’s tough to recover but how I reacted in the fourth set was very positive and ending the match in a very positive way hopefully can help me to start the next round,” the Italian said.
If Berrettini is on, this could be an almighty test for the World No.1 early in the tournament. Multiple tiebreaks here would not be a surprise with both men serving big at the moment although Sinner will be able to offer much more on return. You would definitely trust the top seed to deliver in the key moments more, especially against an opponent whose match sharpness may not be up to 100% just yet.
Prediction – Jannik Sinner in four sets
