Sinner, a truly relieved winner: "It's hard to believe it was just a second round".
Jannik Sinner gave himself a real scare in the second round of Wimbledon. Faced with his compatriot and former Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini, the world number 1 had to work hard to get through (7-6, 7-6, 2-6, 7-6 in 3h46).
Maltreated by a rather impressive Berrettini (66 winners, 28 aces, 72% first serve), Sinner showed incredible realism in the tie-breaks.
Now set to meet Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round, the Transalpine once again reflected on this fratricidal duel in a press conference. Clearly relieved to have come through, he confided that he had been forced to play at a very high level from his second match of the tournament: "We both expected a very high level, even before the match. He serves very well, he uses the slice very well, he moves well on this surface, his forehand is ultra heavy. I knew it was a match where I had to raise my game, and fortunately I managed to do so.
Obviously, the way the match went, the score and everything, it's hard to say that it was just a second round. It felt like a semi-final.
Unfortunately, we can't control the draws. It's very nice to see Matteo playing at this level, I hope we'll see him from now on with far fewer injuries, I wish him all the best."