Tim Henman believes that only one player is able to prevent Jannik the Sinner from holding it Wimbledon title at the All England Club.
The sinner defeated themCarlos Alcarazin a fascinating four-group contest last year for himwon the Wimbledon title for the first time in his career.
But the Italian returned to the All England Club this week with questions hanging over his title defense after a shock second-round exit in May.French Open.
Sinner certainly showed signs of rust in his first match against Miomir Kecmanovic, with the 24-year-old taking it to five sets before edging out victory.
The World No.1 has looked much improved in recent matches, recording straight sets wins over Nuno Borges and Jenson Brooksby to secure his place in the fourth round.
But speaking after his win over Brooksby, Sinner admitted he still has work to do to get back to his best.
“Very happy for the win,” he said. “Just trying to get better every day. Little step forward today, trying to get better.”
“If I want to go far in this tournament, there are some things we need to work on. He was a very tough opponent; I’m very happy with the result.’
Despite not looking his best so far in the opening week, the former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe believes Sinner is still the ‘absolute’ favorite to win again at SW19 this year.
The defending champion will now face Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki in the next round, with a potential semi-final clash against the seven-time champion. Novak Djokovic still a distinct possibility.
And former Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman believes the Serb is Sinner’s biggest threat after he came through a tough contest against Arthur Rinderknech to reach the fourth round.
Asked if Djokovic’s level has dropped in recent years, Henman said: ‘Not on a grass court. I think there are times, because his movement was so outstanding a few years ago, where he’s not that fast.
“But I look at his ball hitting, I look at his confidence and I also look around at his fellow competitors and he comes into the vast majority of these games as the favourite.
“We’re allowed to speculate and look ahead and the only match in the single draw where he would be weak would be against Sinner, and that’s potentially in the semi-finals.
“Auger-Aliassime is third, but I’d take Djokovic any day of the week. Shelton’s lost; Fritz is probably the only other interesting one.’
Analyzing Djokovic’s win over Frenchman Rinderknech, Henman added: “It was a pretty 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 own and pushed Novak Djokovic to the brink, but when Djokovic needed it most, he came out with his best tennis to take the fourth-set tiebreak and the match.”
Speaking after his win, Djokovic told him BBC: ‘I think I did everything I had to do today, in circumstances that were maybe not as good for me as in the second round, and it was still enough to win.
“At this age and stage of my career, every day brings something new and unpredictable for me. I hope that in a few days I will be at my best.’
Djokovic will now face qualifier Roman Safiulli in the fourth round after producing an impressive straight sets win against Joao Fonseca.
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