Wimbledon 2026 Men’s Day 7

Jannik Sinner mowed down qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki 6-3, 7-6 (0), 6-3 on Sunday to book the Wimbledon quarter-finals for a fifth consecutive year and solidify his title defence.

The top seed, who has had troubles with summer heat, played in the relative cool of the evening against a Japanese opponent who won the junior tournament here in 0219.

Sinner won the opening set and endured a second-set pause while the roof was closed before sweeping the tiebreak ending to love to take a tight grip on the contest.

The Italian began the third set with a break and landed a winner to the corner on match point, 

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I handled some situations better than him,” the seed said. “He was coming from qualifying and should be proud of paying at such a high level for a long time.

“It was a very tricky match, his game suite the grass very well. I tried to stay aggressive, I’m happy with the performance today.

“I’m trying to step it up each day and play a bit better.”

Novak Djokovic continued to roll back the years on Sunday, with the 39-year-old setting another Wimbledon record with his 7-6 (6). 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 defeat of Roman Safiullin sending him into another quarter-final.

But the icon admitted that he did not feel on his game despite earning the win.

“To be honest, I haven’t felt really great on the court, so I was just relieved to get out of it and get a win.

“Satisfaction and enjoyment was not part of today’s win. Of course, I’m relieved and happy to win it, but I haven’t enjoyed.

“Hopefully the next match will be better in that sense.”

The seven-time champion at the All England Club moved into command as the player with the most victories at the event as he won the 106th of his career after more than two decades on court here..

Djokovic now stands three more victories from additional history as he chases an unprecedented 25th singles title at the majors.

He is now into his 17th Wimbledon quarter- final – 9th in succession – and his 66th appearance in the last eight of the Slams.

The seventh seed finished off victory after nearly three and a half hours with a reflex touch volley at the net on the first of three match points.

“It was another hard-fought win,” Djokovic said. “He started very well, very aggressive. I didn’t feel comfortable from the back of the court. It was a challenge to stay in the rallies.

“This was one of those days where I didn’t want the points to last for too long. I mixed things up with some serve-and-volley. My first serve got me out of trouble in the fourth set.”

Djokovic battled back from 5-2 down in the opening set against the 132nd-ranked qualifier., saving two set points before claiming the opener in a tiebreaker on his third opportunity.

He picked up pace in a clean second set but went down a break early in the third set to lose it before making a concluding recovery in the fourth..

“Game-wise, I didn’t enjoy my tennis. It’s also due to him putting a lot of
pressure on me, playing well,” Djokovic said.

“I kind of struggled to find the desired level in the game. But a win is a win, even if you win ugly. Hopefully I can build from this.”

Djokovic will meet in the quarter-finals against Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, who booked his spot in the last eight over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-7 (4), 7-6 (6), 6-3, 6-7 (2), 6-1.

Germany’s Jan Lennard Struff also advanced as Hubert Hurkacz retired in their fifth set to hand over a 3-6, 6-7 (5), 7-6 92), 7-4, 4-2 result after four and a half hours to send the Struff into a match against Sinner.

At age 36, Struff is the oldest man to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final in the Open era.