By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) -World number one Jannik Sinner demolished Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic 6-1 6-1 6-3 in a Centre Court masterclass to move ominously into the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday.
The Italian was streets ahead of the 93rd-ranked Vukic who barely laid a glove on the top seed in the opening two sets before saving face with some third-set resistance.
Sinner, bidding to win the title for the first time, never loosened his grip on a one-sided contest although he did need six match points to finish off Vukic in a prolonged final game.
There was never any chance of a repeat of last month’s French Open final when he squandered three match points in a spellbinding clash with Carlos Alcaraz though, and he duly slammed down his 12th ace as the light began to fade.
“I struggled a bit to close it out. I’m very happy, Centre Court is such a special occasion,” Sinner said.
“Yes, I enjoyed (the last game) because I won the game! If not, I don’t know. The match can change very, very quickly. If he breaks me there it can go long distance.”
Apart from a defeat by Alexander Bublik in Halle in the build-up to Wimbledon, Sinner has shown few ill-effects from the heartache of losing to Alcaraz in Paris.
He parted ways with his trainer and physiotherapist, Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, days before Wimbledon, but even that strange timing does not seem to have ruffled his feathers.
With so many seeds having fallen by the wayside already, his path through to the latter stages looks clear.
The 23-year-old has yet to drop serve, has conceded only 12 games in the six sets he has played so far and will now train his sights on unseeded Spaniard Pedro Martinez as he continues his quest to become Italy’s first Wimbledon champion.
Not that he is getting ahead of himself.
“Every opponent is very difficult. Third-round matches in Grand Slams are always special,” he said.
“We saw so many upsets this tournament so we try to stay focused and raise our level. Today I thought the level was good. I can improve a few things but I am looking forward to it.”
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; editing by Clare Fallon)
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