Vintage Djokovic ‘in full flow’ to crush Tsitsipas as Sinner wins

July 2, 2026 No Comments

Vintage Djokovic ‘in full flow’ to crush Tsitsipas as Sinner winsFigure caption, Relaxed Djokovic reflects on ‘vintage’ performance in win over TsitsipasByHarry Poole and Emily SalleyBBC Sport journalists at WimbledonPublished1 July 2026, 16:40 BSTUpdated 24 minutes agoNovak Djokovic outclassed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a statement performance to reach the Wimbledon third round, after Jannik Sinner came through a tricky encounter with Nuno Borges to continue his title defence.The 39-year-old Djokovic maintained his pursuit of history at Wimbledon – where he is seeking a record-equalling eighth triumph and an outright record 25th major title – by beating Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4 6-2 in 98 minutes.Djokovic was operating at his clinical best on Centre Court, where he was watched by Masters champion Rory McIlroy and supported in his box by actor Ben Stiller.His performance peaked in a second set where he won 100% of points behind his first serve and made just one unforced error.”I like the terminology ‘vintage’, it is nice because it brings back the best days,” Djokovic told the crowd after setting up a meeting with French 25th seed Arthur Rinderknech.”Obviously you feel very happy, satisfied and joyful on the court when you are playing this way.”Krejcikova stuns Andreeva on ‘best court in world’

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Former British number one Tim Henman described it as “Djokovic in full flow”.

“Tsitsipas isn’t in the best form or in the best place in his career, but the way Djokovic just absolutely dismantled him was incredibly impressive,” he stated on BBC TV.

“Djokovic was just absolutely brilliant in the way he went out there and executed.”

World number one Sinner, taken to five sets by an inspired Miomir Kecmanovic in his opening match, patiently ground out a 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 win against Borges on his return to Centre Court two days later.

Ranked 48th in the world, Portugal’s Borges thrilled the crowd and was the better player at times against Sinner, who upped his level when it mattered before charging through the third set to seal his ninth straight win at the All England Club.

Sinner will face American Jenson Brooksby, the world number 81, next.

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Djokovic stated that he was “happy but not the freshest” after needing more than three hours to defeat Wu Yibing in his first match of the season on grass on Monday.

The Serb’s meeting with Tsitsipas, a top-10 player for most of the past decade but ranked 87th following injury struggles, had the air of a contest which belonged deeper in the tournament as the Greek showed glimpses of his ability – including bending a stunning forehand winner in around the net post.

But, as relaxed as anyone on the sport’s biggest stages, Djokovic even found time to prank a ball kid during the interval before the third set, pretending she had hurt him while cutting some string off his top, before storming to victory.

He also joked after the match that he wanted to challenge McIlroy to a tennis match – with the winner taking the Masters green blazer that he wore in the Royal Box.

Djokovic started well on serve but, after forcing the breakthrough, had to withstand three break points from 0-40 down to consolidate his advantage.

Normal service resumed thereafter, with Djokovic producing just seven unforced errors in a display which once again asserted him as one of the title favourites.

“I’m feeling great. I try not to take these moments for granted when playing on the Centre Court of Wimbledon,” Djokovic stated.

“It was the childhood dream tournament. I feel very privileged to be walking out on this court at age 30-plus.

“I don’t think it’s a cliche because I actually believe it is true, but age is just a number.”

Defending champion Sinner beats resilient Borges to reach round three

Sinner opted against contesting a grass tournament in the lead-up to Wimbledon, despite suffering a seismic second-round loss at the French Open at the end of May.

When he squeezed past the 50th-ranked Kecmanovic in a match where he lacked sharpness and struggled physically, it felt like the decision could come back to haunt him.

While still not quite at his metronomic best against Borges, striking 29 unforced errors, this was an improvement on his performance against Kecmanovic.

In a tight opening first set, Borges impressed with a mix of hard hitting and delicate drop shots, but he faded towards the back end of the tie-break and Sinner asserted control.

Sinner did not face a single break point in the opener, but the briefest of blips allowed Borges to take a break lead early in the second set.

However, when he tried to serve it out and level the tie, the 29-year-old tightened up, missed a set point and gifted Sinner the break back with another unforced error.

More misses cost him in the resulting tie-break as Sinner charged through, and the four-time major winner recovered from a poor opening service game in the third set to seal victory after two hours and 32 minutes.

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