Jannik Sinner got the drama-free win he was craving after beating Jenson Brooksby in straight-sets to reach the Wimbledon fourth round.
The defending champion suffered a fall and a bloodied foot in a five-set battle with Miomir Kecmanovic in round one, followed by a two-and-a-half-hour, two tie-break tussle with Nuno Borges two days ago.
So a relatively straightforward 6-4 6-3 6-4 win, in two hours and 14 minutes, was most welcome for the Italian.
“I’m very happy about the win,” he said. “I’m trying to improve every day, it’s a small step forward today. I’m trying to get better if I want to go far in this tournament.”
There was the odd sticky moment, however, despite American Brooksby arriving in London this summer on a nine-match losing streak.
There was also a rare show of emotion on match point from the normally inscrutable world number one, pointing to his ear to gee up the crowd.
Sinner, defenestrated to Court One while Novak Djokovic – his likely semi-final opponent – was playing simultaneously on Centre Court, had to repel three break points in the second set before seizing control with a quickfire break to love.
Then, at the start of the third, a Sinner double fault drew gasps from the crowd as it gave Brooksby another break point.
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This time he took it, attacking a second serve and threading a backhand thunderbolt down the line before leaping and punching the air.
It was a premature celebration, Sinner breaking straight back before a Brooksby double-fault gifted the 24-year-old the chance to serve for the set.
Yet in a final act of defiance, Brooksby struck back, converting a break point with a well-constructed point finished with a deft volley.
It was only a short stay of execution, however. Two match points were saved by the Brooksby serve, but when he fashioned a third – and gave the crowd the ear – this one was dispatched with a forehand rocket.
On his gesture, he added: “I don’t know. That was very unusual – but I needed that today.
“I was a break up and couldn’t serve it out, I tried to rush to the finish line. It helped me today. Thanks for pushing me.”
Sinner will take on Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, who beat Spain’s Rafael Jodar, in round four.
“We’ve never played. Let’s see,” said Sinner. “Whoever is in the fourth round of a grand slam deserves to be there.”
