Tennis fans were left stunned after Jannik Sinner’s quarter of the draw fell apart at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships.
Jannik Sinner has been tipped as one of Wimbledon 2023’s top-four favorites to win the title alongside Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, and Daniil Medvedev. Incidentally, all four contenders are placed in different quarters of the draw.
Sinner’s odds of making the final four have risen considerably after his draw fell apart on Thursday. The 21-year-old was drawn in World No. 4 Casper Ruud’s quarter. However, the Norwegian suffered a shock second-round defeat at the hands of Great Britain’s Liam Broady, paving the way for Jannik Sinner to make a deep run in the tournament.
Moreover, the third quarter also saw 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist and World No. 9 Taylor Fritz crash out in the second round against Sweden’s Mikael Ymer. Additionally, four other seeded players – Yoshihito Nishioka, Dan Evans, Borna Coric, and 2019 Wimbledon semifinalist Roberto Bautista Agut faced a similar fate in their opening-round matches.
It is worth noting that Sinner now stands alone as a top-25 seed in his quarter, while the other three favorites’ sections are stacked with top-ranked players. The only seeded player remaining in the Italian’s section is 26th seed and 2021 Wimbledon semifinalist Denis Shapovalov, who has been out of form in recent months.
Tennis fans thus expressed their feelings about Jannik Sinner's chances in 2023. Many opined that the 2022 quarterfinalist should be able to at least make his Grand Slam semifinal breakthrough with such a draw.
“Finally he has some luck with the draw! Let’s hope he doesn’t put too much pressure on himself! Should easily reach the SF,” one fan said.
Sinner has been unable to make the most of his opportunities in the past. This year, the Italian featured in the semifinals of the Indian Wells and the Monte-Carlo Masters but he was unable to get past his next-Gen rivals Carlos Alcaraz and Holger Rune, respectively.
At the Miami Open, he made the final for the second time, with victory over Alcaraz, but he came up short against Daniil Medvedev. Meanwhile, at the French Open last month, Sinner faced a shock defeat to Daniel Altmaier in the second round, despite his quarter being opened after Medvedev’s opening round exit.
Several fans thus maintained caution about the 21-year-old being presented with a favorable situation.
“He doesn’t generally take advantage of these opportunities. He didn’t do it at RG, I hope he can do it here,” one fan wrote.
Here are a few more reactions from tennis fans:
Jannik Sinner to face Quentin Halys in the third round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships
Jannik Sinner is currently through to the third round of the 2023 Wimbledon Championships. The 21-year-old’s campaign so far has been smooth sailing.
He defeated Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 in the opening round. Most recently, Sinner outclassed former World No. 8 Diego Schwartzman in the second round with a 7-5, 6-1, 6-2 victory.
The eighth seed will now face World No. 79 Quentin Halys in the third round on Friday. Halys has booked the spot with wins over Dan Evans and Aleksandar Vukic in the first and second rounds, respectively.