Jannik Sinner is through to the third round of Wimbledon, but he has been far from convincing in his first two matches at SW19.
The Italian is looking to defend his Wimbledon title, and he would become just the tenth man in tennis history to win back-to-back Grand Slams at the London event if he does so.
While Sinner entered the tournament as one of the overwhelming favourites, he has not been putting in the type of performances we have come to expect from the World No 1.
Sinner needed five sets to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round and he was just a set away from an early exit against the Serbian star.
The scoreline for his match against Nuno Borges in round two was far more convincing, but he still showcased several weaknesses against the Portuguese star.
He was broken several times and he needed two tie-breaks to defeat the World No 51 and set up a third round clash with Jenson Brooksby next.
Sinner’s performances so far at Wimbledon are a far cry from what was saw from the World No 1 during his Grand Slam winning campaign last year.
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The Italian didn’t drop a set until the fourth round in 2025 and there is one astonishing stat which truly exhibits Sinner’s drop off at this year’s event.
In his first two matches at Wimbledon last year, against Luca Nardi and Aleksandar Vukic, Sinner hit just 14 unforced errors on his forehand side.
This year, against Kecmanovic and Borges, Sinner has already hit 43 unforced errors on his forehand side.
That is shocking difference for the Italian and it’s allowed several lower-ranked players a chance to truly give it a go against the once unbeatable presence on the other side of the court.
It’s especially surprising as Sinner’s forehand has often been his biggest weapon and it’s helped him claim several Grand Slam and Masters titles over the years.
At one point in his match against Borges, Sinner was averaging a forehand quality rating of 6.7, which is almost unheard of for the Italian.
It’s absolutely essential that Sinner addresses his recent woes on his forehand side if he wants to claim back-to-back Wimbledon titles this year.
Against the top players, especially Novak Djokovic, who he could play in the semi-finals, he will absolutely be punished if he gives away that number of free points of his forehand side.
At present, Sinner’s big serving has been enough to counter act his difficulties on his forehand side, but that is surely not sustainable at the latter stages of a Grand Slam such as Wimbledon.
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