When world No.1 Jannik Sinner whipped a ferocious return to the feet to end the charge of his compatriot and former finalist Matteo Berrettini at Wimbledon on Wednesday, the Italian was not the only person at the All England Club breathing a sigh of relief.
Some marathon matches on centre court meant the riveting clash between the two Italians claimed by Sinner 7-6 (3) 7-6 (4) 2-6 7-6 (4) in 3hr 42min ended at 10.33pm on Centre Court, which felt like the Colloseum at times as the two stars threw everything at each other.
Had Berrettini — who has endured little luck with injuries in recent years but remains an outstanding grass court player, as Alex de Minaur can attest after the Italian whipped him at Wimbledon in the same round a year ago — clinched the fourth set, problems would have arisen.
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Unlike the three other grand slam tournaments, Wimbledon has a strict 11pm curfew and matches must finish at the point given bylaws enforced by the area’s local council.
It is a sensitive time for the tournament as they try to expand the grounds to encompass the nearby golf course and there is no doubt they would prefer to avoid testing the boundaries in terms of late finishes.
It would also have subjected the AELTC to criticism as to why they start play on the fabled court at 1.30pm when matches on the outside courts begin at 11am, but that is a controversy delayed until the next round of marathon matches given the nerve shown by Sinner
Sinner, meanwhile, was extremely pleased to be able to work his way through the match against Berrettini, with his toughness in the three tiebreakers the difference in the end.
“First of all, we are very good friends (and) it is obviously very, very tough that we had to face in the second round in such an important tournament,” Sinner said.
“I knew that I had to raise my level today … as he has played a final here and he is a grass court specialist. For me it was a challenge to come on court and I am very happy with how I handled the situation. There was some little ups and downs, which is normal over five sets.
“Today was such a high level match. I got sometimes a bit lucky and I will take that for today. I want to thank everyone for their support. I know it is quite late, so thanks for staying.”
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Alex de Minaur is making a fine fist of his playing career but the Aussie also demonstrated he could well become a superb coach in years to come when handing out a lesson on Wednesday to a young up-and-comer from Australia.
The world No. 9, who plays Spaniard Jaume Munar first up on Court 3 on Thursday as one of five Australians in action, was barking instructions out on the practice courts at Aorangi Park adjoining Wimbledon on Wednesday while also working on his own game.
“Was that the shot you were trying to hit before?” he said to his pupil after moving forward swiftly to whip a crosscourt backhand winner past the protege left stranded at the net.
On another occasion, after he had peppered the 15-year-old hopeful with a series of crisply struck groundstrokes, he offered applause.
“That is a great first volley. Really good volleying,” he said.
So who was the kid on the end of the lesson from the dual-grand slam quarterfinalist? None other than Cruz Hewitt, who debuted in the Australian Open juniors in January and looks to have grown stronger in the six months since that outing.
With Cruz’s dad Lleyton Hewitt patrolling the court, along with de Minaur’s coach Adolfo Gutierrez, de Minaur happily swapped groundstrokes and notes with the lucky teenager, who looked keen to soak in the experience.
De Minaur, meanwhile, said he can take little from his most recent victory over Munar at Roland Garros ahead of Thursday’s outing given the distinct change in surface.
“If I’m completely honest, going in and playing him on grass, it is a completely polar opposite (experience),” he said.
“I think it’s going to be a lot more on my racket, my next round, and of course, maybe I’ve got a little bit more experience than he does on the grass. But he’s played some good matches (on it).
“I remember him playing against (Cameron) Norrie and having an absolute battle one year here, so I’m definitely not taking it lightly.”
MURRAY FLICKS A NERVOUS TEXT AND COMES UP WITH A PERFECT MATCH
When Andy Murray flicked a message out to Emma Raducanu late on Tuesday night, he was hoping the English star would not leave him hanging too long.
Had she gone to bed? Would he get a yes? When it comes to forming mixed doubles partnerships, the nerves associated with finding a partner can be similar to asking someone out for a first date.
After a training session at Aorangi Park on Wednesday, he said he was grateful the 2021 US Open champion whipped back an answer quickly with the response he was after. YES!
“We’d spoken about years ago during the Covid year, but obviously both of us do quite well in singles. That didn’t happen,” he said.
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“And then yesterday I was chatting to my team discussing mixed and then last night I messaged her coach and said, ‘Do you think this is something she would be up for doing?’. He said it was worth asking and she said ‘Yeah, I’d be up for it’.
“It should be fun. I have played mixed doubles a few times here when I was young here, and then obviously the last time I played with Serena and really enjoyed it. It’s something we rarely get the chance to that with Emma, it is the last chance to do it, so it should be fun.”
Are they a glamour pairing? Or the ultimate odd couple? It will not matter to English fans, with the All England Club abuzz when the pairing was announced prior to play on Wednesday.
There is a lovely touch of symbolism with the pairing, with the three-time major winner Murray at the tail-end of his career while Raducanu is still very much in the infancy of hers.
The pair also share the unfortunate pattern of having been stricken by injury in recent years, though Raducanu’s re-emergence has been encouraging over the past month on grass.
Murray has long been a champion of women’s tennis and was coached by former world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo, who is now the Roland Garros tournament director, for a period.
Australian champion Ash Barty said on Wednesday that one of the few regrets of her career was knocking back Murray when he asked her to play mixed doubles at a time when she was not quite fit enough to be able to combine the opportunity with her singles duties.
“(Emma has made a) smart decision. I was silly enough when Andy asked me to play one year (to say no),” Barty said on the BBC.
“My heartstrings were pulling but, physically, my body was not in the right spot. I love him as a person. I love him as an athlete. It is really nice he can come out here and enjoy one last Wimbledon as a player.”
Raducanu, who created history when coming through qualifying to win the 2021 US Open, said the dual-Olympic gold medallist had long been a source of support for her.
“I think the biggest advice is just how he has always taken care of his operations (and) how he manages his people,” she said.
“I think for me, it is like watching him operate day to day, watching him be absolutely on it with everything. Even in practice now, he is so on it to the minute.
“When I was younger, maybe, I would show up 15 minutes before practice to do a few arm curls, swing my hand around and warm up. He’s there for an hour and a half doing treatment. He just sets really good examples.”
MURRAY BROTHERS WARY OF AUSTRALIAN DOUBLE ACT AHEAD
Murray, meanwhile, is wary of the Australian combination plotting to spoil his farewell celebration alongside his brother Jamie in the doubles at Wimbledon on Thursday.
Despite being a legend of the sport, Murray will be the odd man out when he steps on to Centre Court for their opening round match against John Peers and Rinky Hijikata.
The 37-year-old is the only one of the quartet not to win a grand slam doubles title, with his best effort at Wimbledon a second round appearance five years ago, though admittedly he has scarcely played the discipline given his singles excellence.
Jamie Murray is a former world No. 1 who partnered Bruno Soares to win the 2016 Australian and US Open doubles crowns.
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Peers, who partnered Jamie Murray to finals at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2015, won the Australian Open with Henri Kontinen in 2017.
Hijikata, meanwhile, clinched the Australian Open title last year with Jason Kubler, who has missed much of this year with injury but recently played a Padel event on the Gold Coast.
“I don’t think they have played together too much. But both of them are very good doubles players,” Murray said.
“John’s obviously been on the doubles circuit for a long time and Rinky, he plays singles and doubles a lot of weeks on the tour, and I think he’s certainly one of the better singles players who plays a lot of doubles.
“He likes to move forward, he’s got compact swings and returns well, and, you know, he likes playing on the grass too, so they will be a good team.”
Having watched the brothers practising on Wednesday against Rajeev Ram – an American who mirrored his game on former legend Pete Sampras – and Joe Salisbury, Andy will play on the advantage court and Jamie will return from the deuce court on Thursday.
The 37-year-old looked sharp in the session, which is incredible given the back surgery was only ten days ago, and was clearly close to being able to play singles on Tuesday.
“Obviously my legs will keep getting better. I mean, fitness wise, I was fine,” he said.
“I was playing five singles matches a few weeks ago on the clay and I obviously played three sets of singles at Queen’s. The fitness is still there. I just need to legs to be a bit stronger.”
The Murray brothers have never played at grand slam level but produced mighty efforts to help Great Britain end a 79-year Davis Cup drought back in 2015.
Arguably the most crucial victory in that run to securing the prestigious team event came when they defeated Lleyton Hewitt and Sam Groth in a five set thriller in a semifinal played in Glasgow on route to a 3-2 victory in the tie.