Jannik Sinner’s Victory: The Impact of “Making Friends with the Grass”

Yasir AliJuly 6, 2024

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Jannik Sinner's Victory: The Impact of "Making Friends with the Grass"

Nothing can concentrate the mind quite like a deadline. Entering Centre Court here shortly after 7.30 p.m. on Friday, Jannik Sinner faced Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic in the third round. He knew he would have barely three hours and fifteen minutes to finish the match prior to the curfew at 11 p.m. There wasn’t much room for error after it took him three hours and forty-two minutes to defeat colleague Italian Matteo Berrettini during the first round.

The match, as it occurred, was never in danger of being postponed. Conditions were calm due to the roof being closed from the rain, and world No. 1 Sinner played with his usual efficiency, finishing matches quickly (6-1, 6-4, 6-2) and securing his spot in the round of 16 with the least amount of drama.

Sinner, who will next portray either Canadian Denis Shapovalov or American Ben Shelton, expressed his happiness with his performance today. It seemed as though I was striking the ball quickly. It feels nice to have it over with, and now that I’m feeling better, let’s see what the next round has in store.

Sinner said one of his instructors, Darren Cahill, was giving him some pointers on how to be successful on the surface. Sinner had his best performance here previous year when he made it to the semi-finals. “To establish camaraderie with the grass,” he grinned. “Darren tells me this all the time. Treat the grass with kindness, and good things will come of it.

Sinner was undefeated against Kecmanovic, having defeated the Serbian in all three of their prior meetings. Sinner broke early in the opening game and easily won the opening set in just twenty-one minutes. Kecmanovic, ranked fifty-two, improved in the second set, but Sinner patiently waited, falling in 9th game to win the match.

Sinner took the lead with a break early in the third set, and the world number one cruised through the remainder to seal the victory. He faced just one break point during the entire match in the last game, which he saved with a fantastic running forehand. Kecmanovic never really had a chance, in reality.

A veritable who’s who of grass-court tennis players, from Lleyton Hewitt, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, and Pete Sampras to John McEnroe, Jimmy Connors, and Boris Becker in the 1980s, only seven men ever accomplished the Queen’s-Wimbledon double.

A week from Sunday, Tommy Paul will need to win his maiden grand slam trophy at Wimbledon to support his Queen’s Club victory. Nevertheless, the American player skillfully made it to the round four, maintaining the hope alive. “I’m enjoying myself on the grass,” he remarked following his eighth consecutive victory over Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2. “I enjoy it. Playing on it makes me feel more at ease each time.

As I emerged onto the court today, I must admit that I was taken aback. I had anticipated a little more slickness. I kind of put my foot into the ground and stopped around the third point during the match, or something. In my experience, you would often kind of slip out there when it’s slick. I felt like I could move a little bit more confidently after that. In the contest, it was helpful to me.

Paul is a real threat because of his surface moves, which propelled him to the fourth round there just two years ago. There’s a chance to make the quarterfinals with either Roberto Bautista Agut or Fabio Fognini up next.

After "becoming friends with the grass," Jannik Sinner outpaces Kecmanovic | Wimbledon 2024

Sinner sweeps over Kecmanovic to reach Wimbledon’s fourth round.

Jannik Sinner advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for the third year in a row after defeating Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 underneath the covered Centre Court roof on Friday night.

Following a four-set victory over Yannick Hanfmann in the opening round, the top-seeded and World No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings had to muster some of his finest tennis to advance past colleague Italian Matteo Berrettini within the second round.

However, Sinner defeated Kecmanovic easily in one hour and 37 minutes thanks to their excellent serving and calm baseline play. The Australian Open champion dropped just six points on his opening serve and had no break point until the last game of the match, despite losing service three times against Berrettini.

“I’m relieved to wrap up this hectic day here at Centre Court and start getting better,” Sinner remarked. It’s wonderful to be back here. This place has such a great vibe.

“To be in this position, my team and I have been working extremely hard. While my game has improved, we continue to make compromises in order to keep getting better. I sense that my squad and I work together to strive for daily improvement both as players and as individuals.

During the game, Sinner occupied 27% of the attacking positions while Kecmanovic occupied 22%. Eleven aces and 35 winners were snipped by him.

Sinner’s next opponent is the victor of the all-left-handed match between Canadian Denis Shapovalov and 14th seed Ben Shelton; just five games of the match were played on Friday before it was postponed due to rain.

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After the Spaniard defeated Frances Tiafoe in five sets earlier in the day, there is still a chance for a semifinal matchup with the reigning champion, Carlos Alcaraz.

By winning Wimbledon, Sinner has the opportunity to solidify his hold on the race to become the year’s top seed for the first time. As a predictor of who will win the ATP World Year-End No. 1 awarded by PIF honors, Sinner leads second-place Alexander Zverev by 1,135 points during the PIF ATP Streaming Race to Turin.