Sinner faces Borges in Wimbledon second round with Italian Grand Slam record in sight
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner takes on Portugal's Nuno Borges on Centre Court, needing one win to become the Italian with the most Grand Slam match victories.
Jannik Sinner returns to Centre Court on Wednesday for his second-round match at Wimbledon 2026, facing world No. 48 Nuno Borges. The defending champion survived a five-set scare against Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round, a match that included a heavy fall and a bloodied right shoe. It was Sinner's first five-set win since the 2024 Australian Open final.
Record within reach
A victory would give Sinner his 95th Grand Slam match win, moving him past Nicola Pietrangeli (94) for the most by an Italian man. The 22-year-old has already matched Pietrangeli's mark and now stands on the verge of sole possession of the record.
First matches in Slams are always difficult.
Borges's unconventional path
Borges, 29, took an unusual route to the top 50. He studied kinesiology at Mississippi State University, where he was a three-time SEC Player of the Year, and turned professional only in 2021. His lone ATP title came at Båstad in 2024, where he beat Rafael Nadal in the Spaniard's last career final. Borges also became the first Portuguese to reach the last 16 of a Slam (2024 Australian Open) and the first to defeat a top-10 opponent at a major (Casper Ruud, 2025 Roland Garros). He has partial hearing loss in his left ear and counts Roger Federer as his childhood idol.
Roger was my one and only idol from the very beginning. As you learn to be a professional, you really appreciate what he did on court, how he stayed calm and positive even in the tensest moments.
Match details
The pair have met once before, on indoor hard courts at the 2022 Sofia ATP 250, where Sinner won 6-3, 6-4. Wednesday's contest is their first on grass. Play begins at 14:30 local time (15:30 in Italy) on Centre Court. In Italy, Sky Sport holds exclusive rights, with streaming on Sky Go and Now; no free-to-air coverage is available.
What comes next
The winner will face either Jenson Brooksby or Ignacio Buse in the third round. Elsewhere in the Italian camp, Flavio Cobolli resumes his first-round match against Mariano Navone leading two sets to one.
