Wimbledon 2022: Sinner, Parry break new ground

Sinner books tough Isner showdown

While No.10 seed Jannik Sinner has made the fourth round or better at the other three Grand Slams, the young Italian only notched his first ever main-draw victory at Wimbledon earlier this week when he overcame Stan Wawrinka in their opening clash.

The 20-year-old, making just his second Wimbledon appearance this fortnight, followed up his win over Wawrinka with another four-set triumph, this time over Sweden’s Mikael Ymer in the second round on Wednesday.

Sinner is already a two-time Grand Slam quarter-finalist (Roland-Garros 2020, Australian Open 2022) and has a new face among his coaching camp in the form of the experienced Darren Cahill, whose extensive CV includes working with Simona Halep, Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt.

Standing between Sinner and a place in the Wimbledon second week is No.20 seed and former semi-finalist John Isner, who dismissed Andy Murray on Wednesday.

“It's for sure a very, very tough match, especially here on grass,” said Sinner, who is 1-1 head-to-head against the 37-year-old American.

“He serves well. Hopefully I can read a little bit his serve, but it's one of the toughest challenges, returning John's serve, so yeah, it would be a very tough match.”

Parry backs up RG run

French teenager Diane Parry had the entire Court Philippe-Chatrier on its feet when she stunned defending champion Barbora Krejcikova en route to the Roland-Garros third round a few weeks ago, and she’s back at it again, storming into the Wimbledon third round without dropping a set.

Making her Wimbledon main draw debut this week, the 19-year-old from Nice-born Parisian knocked out Estonian No.31 seed Kaia Kanepi in her first round before defeating Japan’s Mai Hontama.

Parry’s next test is a big one as she faces No.3 seed and recent Berlin champion Ons Jabeur for a place in the last 16.

“I would really like to play Ons, she's the kind of player that motivates me,” world No.77 Parry said in an interview with the FFT.

“Those are the kind of matches that make me want to go play. I know it's going to be a good match, I know I'm going to like her game because she has a lot of variety. I hope I can play her to see where I stand against these girls.”

As a junior, Parry reached the girls’ singles semi-finals at Wimbledon and Roehampton in 2019.

Alcaraz, Otte square off in duel of first-timers

Both competing at Wimbledon for just the second time, and both making their third round debuts at SW19, Carlos Alcaraz and Oscar Otte will make for an intriguing match-up when they face off on Friday.

The fifth-seeded Alcaraz came through a tough opener in his first round, battling past Jan-Lennard Struff in five sets, before defeating Tallon Griekspoor in straights on Wednesday.

The 19-year-old Spanish phenom has reached the quarter-finals in two of his last three Grand Slams and has been a near-unstoppable force on tour in 2022. But he has only ever played four matches on grass throughout his young professional career and admits he is still finding his footing on the surface.

“I felt more comfortable today than the first round. But obviously, I need more hours on court, on grass, to feel more comfortable,” said Alcaraz on Wednesday.

The 28-year-old Otte, seeded 32 at Wimbledon, has more grass-court experience compared to Alcaraz.

Ranked a career-high 36 this week, the German is 16-9 lifetime on the surface across Challengers and tour-level tournaments and is coming off back-to-back semi-final appearances on grass in Stuttgart and Halle.

Niemeier makes a splash

This year’s Wimbledon is one Jule Niemeier will likely remember for the rest of her life and it’s not just because it’s her first.

After eliminating Wang Xiyu in her opening match, the 22-year-old German debutante stunned No.2 seed Anett Kontaveit 6-4, 6-0 on Wednesday to book a last-32 clash with Ukrainian Lesia Tsurenko.

“I love to play on grass. It fits to my game. I love to play slice, drop shots, going to the net. If I'm serving well, it's tough to break it,” said the 97th-ranked Niemeier, who played her first Grand Slam main draw a few weeks ago at Roland-Garros.

Who else?

Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic is through to the Wimbledon third round for the first time in three appearances and will next face his compatriot Novak Djokovic.

Surprise s-Hertogenbosch champion Tim van Rijthoven continues his dream June by knocking out No.15 seed Reilly Opelka to make the last 32, on his Grand Slam debut no less. The Dutchman plays No.22 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili for a spot in the second week.

>> FIND OUT MORE ABOUT VAN RIJTHOVEN

Former Roland-Garros junior champion Tommy Paul, the No.30 seed, has yet to drop a set en route to the third round on his Wimbledon debut.

Czech world No.66 Marie Bouzkova is into round three on her third attempt at the All England Club and has a tricky clash against grass-court specialist and No.28 seed Alison Riske-Amritraj next.