ATP Tour

Sinner equals Open Era record with Martinez destruction at Wimbledon

Jannik Sinner advanced to the fourth round at Wimbledon for a fourth consecutive year on Saturday by overcoming a physically hampered Pedro Martinez 6-1, 6-3, 6-1.

Having dropped just 17 games in his campaign so far, Sinner has equalled the Open Era record for fewest games dropped into the men’s singles fourth round at Wimbledon, held by Jan Kodes in 1972. The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings has also yet to drop his serve this week. He has won all 37 service games he has played, fending off all eight break points he has faced.

Sinner led Martinez 5-0 in the first set before the Spaniard took a medical timeout to receive treatment on his right shoulder. Martinez struggled to serve at full capacity — often firing first serves at 80 mph – while the Italian remained typically dominant from the back of the court.

“I’m very happy to be in the second week, but I think we all saw he was struggling with the shoulder,” said Sinner. “He couldn’t serve very well, and especially on this surface, if you can’t serve well, it’s not easy to play. But huge credit to him for coming out. From my side, I tried to stay solid from the back of the court.”

Martinez grew in confidence in a free-hitting display in the second set, carving out four break points in the eighth game. Yet Sinner saved all of them with a mix of bruising ballstriking and pinpoint serving to reassert his dominance on the encounter before racing to a one-hour, 55-minute victory.

Smooooth from Sinner 😮‍💨

He strolls past Martinez in straight sets to advance…@wimbledon | #wimbledon pic.twitter.com/XB4ra0TKE5

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 5, 2025

By reaching the fourth round at a Grand Slam tournament for the 17th time, Sinner overtook Nicola Pietrangeli (16) to claim the all-time Italian record. It marks his fourth consecutive appearance in the last 16 at Wimbledon in just his fifth foray at the grass-court major.

After improving to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Martinez, Sinner set a clash with Grigor Dimitrov, who moved past Sebastian Ofner 6-3, 6-4, 7-6(0). The 23-year-old Sinner is chasing his fourth major trophy and first at Wimbledon, where he reached the semi-finals in 2023 before falling to Novak Djokovic.

While Sinner cannot lose his World No. 1 spot during the tournament, he is still aiming to make ground in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin, which determines who will claim ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours. Two-time defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz currently leads second-placed Sinner by 2,240 points atop the Live Race.

In contrast to rivals Alcaraz and seven-time winner Djokovic, who have each squandered sets during their campaigns at SW19 thus far, Sinner has not faltered. He remains the only player in the men’s singles draw not to have dropped a set, and is also yet to drop serve across his first three matches.

If Lorenzo Sonego can join Sinner and Flavio Cobolli, who earlier defeated Jakub Mensik, in the fourth round, it will mark the first time in history that three Italians reach that stage at WImbledon.

The opening Saturday at Wimbledon is a day the All England Club traditionally invites a range of sporting superstars into the Royal Box. Those watching Sinner score his 22nd win of the season included Tennis Hall of Famers Andy Roddick and Vijay Amritraj, among other sporting legends from across the board.

“I feel like I haven’t won anything compared to you,” Sinner said to the Royal Box crowd. “For us athletes, it’s very nice when we see new faces because we are not used to playing in front of such special guests, so thank you for watching.”

There were moments of magic for Martinez, who flicked an expertly-measured lob over Sinner in the sixth game of the second set. Yet these were few and far between as Sinner took control of the Centre Court occasion.