Jannik Sinner wants to get into the round of 16 as quickly as possible. © APA/afp / HENRY NICHOLLS
Jannik Sinner will play on the hallowed turf of Wimbledon on Friday evening for a place in the round of 16. He will be up against a man who has never beaten an absolute top player. But Sinner is forewarned.
04. July 2024
By: fop
Hanfmann, Berrettini, Griekspoor, Shelton, Medvedev or Dimitrov, Alcaraz. Jannik Sinner’s path to the Wimbledon final seemed clear, provided he himself remained victorious. But suddenly he is facing a completely different opponent: Miomir Kecmanovic. The Serb defeated the favored grass-court specialist Griekspoor in five sets in the second round and is now taking on the world number one.
Kecmanovic, who at 24 is two years older than Sinner, has been consistently between places 27 (best ranking) and 60 in the world rankings for around two years. He is currently ranked 52nd in the ATP computer. The fact that his career is stagnating is also due to the fact that he has not made it past the quarter-finals in any tournament this year. However, he has shown a clear improvement in form since the start of the week in Wimbledon.
Center Court and Prime Time
Even though Kecmanovic is an unknown quantity for many, Sinner knows the man from Belgrade, who was considered a potential successor to Novak Djokovic in his youth, almost inside out. The two faced each other for the first time in 2019 at the NextGen Finals, and twice more in the following years in Cincinnati and Melbourne. They also played against each other in doubles in the Davis Cup. And Sinner always came out on top. Another fact speaks in favor of the tennis star from Sexten: Kecmanovic has never defeated a top 5 player in his career.
Miomir Kecmanovic has shown great tennis so far at Wimbledon. © APA/afp / ANDREJ ISAKOVIC
The Serb will make another attempt on Friday evening. The match between him and the clear favorite Sinner is scheduled as the third match after 2.30 p.m. (CEST) on Center Court. It is therefore quite possible that Sinner will play at absolute prime time. SportNews will certainly cover the match – regardless of the time – with a live ticker.
2024-07-04 20:40:54
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