Sinner beats Berrettini in four-set thriller
Watch highlights as Jannik Sinner beats Matteo Berrettini in a closely-contested encounter finishing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-7 (7-4) on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
Watch highlights as Jannik Sinner beats Matteo Berrettini in a closely-contested encounter finishing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (7-4) 2-6 7-7 (7-4) on Centre Court at Wimbledon.
A lot of the attention in tennis goes to the all-time greats like Novak Djokovic and ascendant stars including Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz. But one of the most interesting stories in the sport belongs to 30-year-old American Marcos Giron.
Once a top junior in the United States and a college standout at UCLA, Giron underwent right hip surgery in December 2015 and left hip surgery in February 2016 to repair labral tears. Doctors shaved down his hip bones, which were wearing down cartilage.
More than eight years later, Giron is playing the best tennis of his career and proving that he can compete at the highest levels of the sport. The No. 46 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will try to show that again Thursday against fourth seed Alexander Zverev in the second round at Wimbledon.
“It’s been an amazing journey. There are a lot of people to thank for that, but I’m really proud of the effort, the drive and the consistency that I’ve put in throughout the years. It’s tough,” Giron told ATPTour.com. “Professional tennis is tough. You have to prove it every year. There are no handouts. Anybody can win on every given day and it’s tough. It’s amazing. In the end, I think I’ve been able to just keep improving over and over and over and keep believing in my ability.
“Of course, there are undulations to the year, it’s not always just straight up, but it’s kind of like the stock market I think, in a funny way. There are going to be some ups, there are going to be downs, but hopefully in the long run, you’re going to be better off.”
It has been the best season of Giron’s career. Among the players he has defeated are Andy Murray, Andrey Rublev, Matteo Berrettini, Denis Shapovalov and Frances Tiafoe. In February the home favourite reached the second ATP Tour final of his career at the Dallas Open.
“I’m really proud to not just have made the Top 100, but then to have been able to stay there. Also, each year, I feel like I’m improving. In this sport, you have to either improve or in a way you die. It’s kind of aggressive to say it that way, but you have to keep improving,” Giron said. “I feel like I’ve really done that. I’ve become more aggressive off my forehand, my backhand has gotten better, my backhand has gotten more aggressive. I return better. I’m 30, but it kind of feels like just a number that I don’t physically feel.
“I physically feel good. I understand the game better than ever and so I’m really fortunate to be healthy now, to have been healthy for the last several years and to keep improving and keep playing well.”
[ATP APP]Giron did not crack the Top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings until August 2020, when he was 27 years old. There was a time while dealing with his hips that he even returned to UCLA as a volunteer assistant coach. Not only did he persevere to break through, but he continues to evolve. According to the American, a match between the current version of himself and the one that broke into the Top 100 would not be competitive.
“I think it’d be pretty bad. Honestly, I think the Marcos 1.0 would have been hurting a lot more on court,” Giron said. “He would have been running a hell of a lot more, I think maybe on a given day he would win. But I take 30-year-old Marcos most days of the week.”
For years, Giron has been a tough out on the court. Opponents knew they would have to beat him and that he would always make them work hard. But now the two-time ATP Tour finalist brings not just his competitive spirit, but a set of weapons with which he is able to attack those across the net.
“I feel like now my tennis does the talking,” Giron said. “It’s not that before I was a big talker necessarily, but I feel like I was able to hustle my way and fight through a lot more matches versus now, when I feel like I actually take it to my opponents.”
Giron on Thursday will face Zverev for a place in the round of Wimbledon. Their first Lexus ATP Head2Head encounter, at the 2021 Australian Open, went in the German’s favour after four sets. But that version of Giron is no more. He is plenty improved.
“I just try to be better than I was yesterday, honestly. Can I be the best version of myself every day? It’s kind of cliche, but it’s really hard. And you’ve got to be honest with yourself,” Giron said. “There’s always room to improve. Do I think I can be seeded at Slams? Absolutely. I don’t know what my ranking can be. But I know I can beat Top 10 players in the world. I know I can beat most players in the world. The challenge is doing it on a very consistent basis.
“I would love to be playing in the second week of Slams, to be playing for titles. I’ve made finals of a couple ATP events. I believe my game has the ability to do a lot of damage.”
Giron believes in viewing a glass as half full, not half empty. Through the ups and downs he always maintained belief. And now, nearly a decade on from hip surgeries that could have prevented him from pushing for his dreams, the American is among the very best players in the world.
“You’ve just got to give me a chance really,” Giron said. “I always feel like you’ve got to keep pushing. You’ve got to be relentless. I feel like I show that.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Italian Jannik Sinner earned a statement win at Wimbledon on Wednesday when he defeated countryman and former finalist Matteo Berrettini 7-6(3), 7-6(4), 2-6, 7-6(4) in an absorbing second-round clash.
Meeting for just the second time, both players ripped the ball from the baseline and looked to gain the first strike in the exchanges. There was little to separate the pair but Sinner drew backhand errors from Berrettini at key times, while he rallied from a break down in the second and fourth sets to reach the third round at Wimbledon after three hours and 45 minutes.
With his victory that came just 27 minutes before the 11 p.m. curfew, the top seed improved his perfect tour-level record against Italians to 14-0.
“First of all we are very good friends,” Sinner said. “We played Davis Cup together and we practise together, so it is very very tough we had to face in the second round in such an important tournament. Today was a very high-level match. In three tie-breaks I got a little bit lucky and I take it for today.”
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— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 3, 2024
Berrettini spent the majority of time from 2019-2022 as the Italian No. 1, reaching the Wimbledon final in 2021. In June 2022, the eight-time tour-level titlist dropped out of the Top 10, with Sinner passing his countryman in the opposite direction two weeks later.
Since then, World No. 1 Sinner defeated Berrettini en route to winning his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto and then clinched his first major crown at the Australian Open in January. In contrast, World No. 59 Berrettini has missed large periods through injury, with his best result a title run in Marrakech in April.
In a tight clash between two of Italy’s best-ever players, Sinner struck 32 winners and committed 25 unforced errors to earn his 40th tour-level win of the season. He withstood 28 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points.
“We have spoken with the team a lot and I knew I had to raise my level,” Sinner said. “He played the final here and is a grass-court specialist. I was looking forward to it and it was a challenge to come on court and I am very happy with how I handled the situation. There were some ups and downs, which is normal in a five-set [match], but I am happy.”
[ATP APP]Sinner, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon last season, is chasing his second major title and Tour-leading fifth crown of the year. The former Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion will next play Miomir Kecmanovic after the Serbian beat 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor 4-6, 7-6(7), 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Sinner arrived in west London off the back of winning the title at the ATP 500 grass-court event in Halle. The 22-year-old has battled hard in his opening two matches at SW19, where he also eliminated Yannick Hanfmann in four sets.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Naomi Osaka pays the price for too many errors as she loses in straight sets to Emma Navarro.
Britain’s Jacob Fearnley remembers watching from the sofa when Novak Djokovic lost in the 2013 Wimbledon final – now he plays the seven-time champion.
Second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden are up and running at Wimbledon, where they are chasing their second major title of 2024.
The Indian-Australian duo defeated Sander Arends and Robin Haase 7-5, 6-4 in Wednesday’s opening round action at the All England Club. Already champions at the Australian Open and in Miami this year, Bopanna and Ebden are aiming for their fifth team title. Ebden won the 2022 Wimbledon crown alongside countryman Max Purcell.
Up next for the third team in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin is German pair Constantin Frantzen and Hendrik Jebens, who overcame Pavel Kotov and Cristian Rodriguez 7-6(3), 7-6(3).
[ATP APP]In other action, a pair of Top 10 seeds suffered first-round upsets. Nicolas Barrientos and Francisco Cabral ousted 10th seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 7-6(4), 7-6(8) while Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten upset fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 6-3, 6-4.
Eighth seeds Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz were 6-4, 6-2 winners against Luciano Darderi and Fernando Romboli. ‘s-Hertogenbosch champions Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow, seeded 12th, won the all-American clash against Marcos Giron and Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-2.
Andy Murray and brother Jamie Murray will take Centre Court Thursday when they face Rinky Hijikata and John Peers.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Tomas Machac will not soon forget his start to the 2024 edition of The Championships.
Originally scheduled to face Andy Murray on Centre Court in the first round before the former World No. 1’s withdrawal, Machac rallied from 0-5 in the fifth set to defeat lucky loser David Goffin 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 7-6(10-5) on Wednesday.
[ATP APP]Machac had his back against the wall for much of the match, which was contested over two days. Goffin took a 6-3, 4-2 lead before play was suspended Tuesday evening. Machac lost the first two sets and trailed by a break on three separate occasions in the third set.
But the No. 39 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, who did not face a match point, rallied past the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up in three hours and 17 minutes. Both men earned nine service breaks in the match.
Machac will next play 2023 Wimbledon quarter-finalist Roman Safiullin, who also advanced from two sets down. Safiullin eliminated 26th seed Francisco Cerundolo 6-7(5), 3-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz beats Aleksandar Vukic on court one to move into the third round of Wimbledon 2024.
Holger Rune cut a confident figure Tuesday at Wimbledon, where he cruised through the first round of The Championships. The Danish star was in control throughout his straight-sets victory against Soonwoo Kwon and looked ready to make a push at the grass-court major.
It is not long ago that the 21-year-old suffered one of his most difficult defeats. Rune was one game from defeating Alexander Zverev in the Roland Garros fourth round. Zverev found a way to win and nearly claimed the title, while Rune went home.
The 2023 Nitto ATP Finals competitor did not allow the loss to keep him down.
“I think it’s important to take the learning from it. If you just avoid it 100 per cent you’re kind of hiding the truth a little bit so I think it’s important to learn from it, but at the same time move on because you can’t stay and [not] reset for like a week,” Rune told ATPTour.com. “Then it’ll just get to you and hurt you even more and do not good for you. So I think it’s about taking the learning quickly and talking about it. Then just move on and improve.”
Watch ATP Origins: The Rise Of Holger Rune
There were plenty of positives. Rune has made clear since his early days on the ATP Tour that he wants to triumph at the highest levels of the sport and he was on the verge of defeating someone who reached the final and had opportunities to defeat Carlos Alcaraz for the Coupe des Mousquetaires.
“Definitely it was much better that tournament than the rest of the tournaments I played in the clay season. I also felt like Monaco and the French Open were the tournaments where I was putting the best level together and definitely performing like that in the French Open gave me a lot of motivation,” Rune said. “But at the same time, super disappointed because I wanted to do better.
“But it’s always good to see the guy you lose to make the final and have a chance to win. So the good thing is it’s getting better. I’m improving and [I have] just got to trust the process.”
[ATP APP]Rune reached a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings last August, but is now World No. 15. That is not something that detracts from his confidence, though.
“No, no, no, I still have the same belief and there is still hope for the tournament as I would have if I was higher seeded,” Rune said. “I have extremely high ambitions for myself and I will try to live up to them.”
In discussing his opening-round win against Kwon, Rune admitted to feeling nerves early on.
“There are always nerves when you enter an event like this. There are a few doubts, there’s everything,” Rune said. “But I had a good preparation and you’ve got to trust that 100 per cent and trust that you’ve done the work outside the scene and now it’s just perform, fight and stay in there and believe in yourself. That’s what I have to do right now.”
Rune will next play Brazilian Thiago Seyboth Wild, who rallied from two sets down in his opening match. The Dane will try to advance even further than he did at SW19 last year, when he battled to the quarter-finals.
“[The tournament is] very special. It’s so historical,” Rune said of Wimbledon. “I had great memories last year making the quarters and that’s pretty much it. It means a lot to be back.”
[NEWSLETTER FORM]Jannik Sinner and Matteo Berrettini tell BBC Sport about their rivalry as they prepare to face each other in an all-Italian second-round contest at Wimbledon.