Tim Henman has stated that only one player is capable of preventing Jannik Sinner from retaining his Wimbledon title at the All England Club. The former Wimbledon semi-finalist identified Novak Djokovic as the primary threat to Sinner's defence, following the Italian's hard-fought victory over Carlos Alcaraz in last year's final.
Sinner's path to the fourth round
Sinner arrived at Wimbledon this year under a cloud after a shock second-round exit at the French Open in May. The world No. 1 showed signs of rustiness in his opening match against Miomir Kecmanovic, needing five sets to secure the win. However, he has since improved, recording straight-set victories over Nuno Borges and Jenson Brooksby to reach the fourth round.
After his win over Brooksby, Sinner admitted he still has work to do. 'Very happy about the win,' he said. 'I'm trying to improve every day. Small step forwards today, trying to get better. If I want to go far in this tournament, there are a couple of things we need to work on. He was a very tough opponent; I'm very happy about the result.'
Henman's assessment of Djokovic
Despite Sinner's struggles, former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe still considers the Italian the 'absolute' favourite. However, Henman believes Djokovic is the biggest threat after he battled past Arthur Rinderknech in a four-set contest to reach the fourth round.
'Not on a grass court,' Henman said when asked if Djokovic's level has dropped. 'I think there are times, because his movement was so exceptional a few years ago, where he isn't quite as quick. But I look at his ball striking, I look at his confidence and I also look around at his fellow competitors and he's coming into the vast majority of these matches as the favourite.'
Henman added: 'We're allowed to speculate and look ahead and the only match in the only draw where he would be the underdog would be against Sinner, and that's potentially in the semis. Auger-Aliassime is seeded third, but I'd take Djokovic any day of the week. Shelton has lost; Fritz is perhaps the only other interesting one.'
Djokovic's form and next match
Analysing Djokovic's win over Rinderknech, Henman said: 'It was a fairly predictable match in those first two sets, but Arthur Rinderknech deserves a lot of credit for his efforts in the third and fourth. He really held his level and he pushed Novak Djokovic to the brink, but when Djokovic needed it most, he came up with his best tennis to take that fourth-set tie-break and the match.'
Djokovic himself acknowledged the challenges of his match, telling the BBC: 'I think I've done everything I needed to do today, under circumstances that weren't maybe as good for me as they were in the second round, and it was still enough to win. At this age and stage in my career, every day brings something new and unpredictable for me. I'm hoping that I will come out at my best in a few days' time.'
Djokovic will face qualifier Roman Safiullin in the fourth round, while Sinner takes on Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki. A potential semi-final clash between Sinner and Djokovic looms as the standout match of the tournament.
