Nuno Borges impresses but falls to world no.1 Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon

Nuno Borges produced arguably one of the best performances of his career on Centre Court at Wimbledon but was ultimately unable to overcome world no. 1 and defending champion Jannik Sinner, who advanced to the third round with a 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-2), 6-4 victory.

The Portuguese no. 1, ranked 48th in the world, refused to be overawed by the occasion and matched the Italian for long spells of the two-hour, 32-minute contest.

Borges held serve throughout the opening set, taking Sinner to a tie-break before the top seed edged ahead at the crucial moments.

The second set proved even more encouraging for the 29-year-old. Borges broke Sinner’s serve to lead 3-1 and looked on course to level the match as he served for the set at 5-4.

However, Sinner responded with the composure expected of the world’s top-ranked player and a four-time Grand Slam winner, breaking back to force another tie-break before once again proving stronger under pressure.

The Italian sealed victory in the third set with a single break of serve, closing out the match 6-4 to book his place in the third round.

Despite the defeat, Borges can leave Wimbledon with plenty of positives after becoming only the fourth Portuguese player to compete on Centre Court at the All England Club.

Before him, only João Sousa, who faced Rafael Nadal in 2019 and Stan Wawrinka in 2015, Michelle Larcher de Brito, who played Serena Williams in 2013, and Neuza Silva had appeared on the tournament’s most famous court.

Portugal’s representation at the tournament is down to Jaime Faria (98th), who will face Belgium’s Zizou Bergs (37th) in the second round tomorrow no earlier than 12.30pm (Lisbon time), and Francisco Cabral, who is competing in the doubles tournament alongside Lucas Miedler. The duo have already qualified for the second round.

Michael Bruxo

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.