Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball during the men's singles second round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/Xinhua)
LONDON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Jannik Sinner continued his Wimbledon title defense with a hard-fought 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 victory over Portugal's Nuno Borges on Wednesday to reach the third round.
The world No. 1 delivered a more assured performance than in his five-set opener against Miomir Kecmanovic, although he still committed 29 unforced errors and remained short of his usual standard.
Borges, ranked No. 48 in the world, impressed with powerful baseline hitting and deft drop shots, even earning an early break in the second set. However, Sinner raised his level in the key moments, winning both tiebreaks before sealing victory in two hours and 32 minutes.
"I need to get back to the rhythm, but matches like these help me a lot," Sinner said. The four-time Grand Slam champion will next face American Jenson Brooksby.
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic also advanced comfortably, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 to reach the third round at the All England Club for the 20th time.
After being pushed to four sets by China's Wu Yibing in the opening round, Djokovic produced a dominant display against Tsitsipas, winning their first career meeting on grass and extending his head-to-head advantage over the Greek to 13-2.
The Serbian wrapped up victory in one hour and 38 minutes, highlighted by a brilliant return game at 4-2 in the third set that featured three winners, including a perfectly executed lob.
"You feel very happy, satisfied and joyful on the court when you are playing this way," Djokovic said.
"That game when I went 5-2 up was one of the best return games I've played in a while. I just went for my shots and felt more relaxed."
In the women's draw, top seed Aryna Sabalenka survived a stern test from American McCartney Kessler, rallying for a 6-1, 7-6 (9) victory to advance to the third round.
After cruising through the opening set, the world No. 1 found herself trailing 5-2 in the second set and had to save four set points before prevailing in a tense tiebreak. The victory improved Sabalenka's 2026 tiebreak record to 9-2 and extended her Open Era record of 21 consecutive Grand Slam tiebreak wins.
"It was a true battle," Sabalenka said. "She really tested me today, and I'm really happy to pass the test."
Reflecting on her remarkable success in tiebreaks, Sabalenka added: "I'm glad from the outside it looks like I'm really calm. Inside I'm like, 'OK, please get this point.' I trust my shots and stay aggressive, and I think that really makes a big difference."
Sabalenka will next face former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko, who needed just 66 minutes to defeat Antonia Ruzic 6-2, 6-0, firing 34 winners while committing only 10 unforced errors.
Meanwhile, former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova battled past this year's French Open champion Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 in a gruelling three-hour contest.
China's Zhang Shuai and Wang Xinyu suffered straight-set defeats, bowing out to 10th seed Karolina Muchova and 11th seed Belinda Bencic 3-6, 2-6 and 5-7, 0-6 respectively.
Reflecting on her clash with Muchova, Zhang gave credit to her opponent's superior performance while remaining positive about her own display.
"Against a player of her caliber, such a result is not surprising. Our previous encounters yielded similar scores. Even giving it my all, this was the best I could produce, but the quality of my play today was much better than our match in Berlin. I'm happy and proud of myself. Being able to still secure a singles win at a Grand Slam is something I take great pride in," Zhang said.
Looking ahead to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games, Zhang expressed her desire to build chemistry with the younger generation of players to restore China's traditional dominance in women's doubles.
"For the second half of the year, my focus will shift to the Asian Games. Meanwhile, I hope to play more alongside our younger players to forge stable and competitive doubles pairings ahead of the 2028 LA Olympics," Zhang added. ■
Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball during the men's singles second round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/Xinhua)
Jannik Sinner of Italy returns the ball during the men's second round match against Nuno Borges of Portugal at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Stephen Chung/Xinhua)
Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts during the men's second round match against Nuno Borges of Portugal at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Stephen Chung/Xinhua)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball during the men's singles second round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/Xinhua)
Jannik Sinner of Italy reacts during the men's second round match against Nuno Borges of Portugal at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Stephen Chung/Xinhua)
Novak Djokovic of Serbia serves during the men's singles second round match against Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece at Wimbledon tennis Championship in London, Britain, on July 1, 2026. (Photo by Dinendra Haria/Xinhua)
