Preview: Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner vs. Aleksandar Vukic - prediction, head-to-head, tournament so far

Jannik Sinner’s quest for his first Wimbledon final faces its next challenge on Thursday, as the world No. 1 takes on Aleksandar Vukic in the second round for a place in a fourth consecutive third-round appearance.    

The top seed beat his compatriot Luca Nardi in straight sets on Tuesday to set up a third ATP Tour meeting with Vukic, who is eager to go beyond the second round at SW19 for the first time.

Match preview

A year after suffering a five-set defeat to Daniil Medvedev in the 2024 Wimbledon quarter-final, Sinner returned to the All England Club and was no-nonsense in defeating Nardi 6-4, 6-3, 6-0.

The world No. 1 faced no break points on his serve and broke his opponent five times from 13 opportunities created, while he won an impressive 84% of first serve points and 76% on his second serve, further highlighting his high-standard play on day two at the Championships.

Tuesday's victory was the 23-year-old's 75th Grand Slam win and his 25th since rising to the No. 1 ranking after last year's French Open.

Having improved to 14-4 overall at the All England Club, Sinner is aiming for a 15th win over his Australian opponent to advance to the third round.

Although the Italian has yet to reach the final at SW19, he has not exited in the first week since his debut in 2021, reaching the quarter-finals (2022, 2024) and a semi-final two years ago, and anything less than a similar run would be considered a notable upset.

Vukic, who aims to cause the biggest upset of his career by shocking the top-ranked player, is seeking to inflict Sinner's earliest defeat at the All England Club in four years.

The world No. 93 defeated Tseng Chun-hsin in four close sets, 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5), with his performance in the fourth-set tie-break to avoid a decider standing out.

Tuesday’s win marked the third consecutive second round at the Championships for the 29-year-old; however, he has never secured a victory in earlier years.

Having lost to Quentin Halys in 2023 and Carlos Alcaraz 12 months ago, the former world No. 48 is the underdog against Sinner, aiming to avoid another straight-sets defeat at this stage.

Vukic’s broader record at the Grand Slams suggests that his ambitions face an uphill climb, as he has only made it to the third match once in 11 previous attempts, this year's Australian Open being his best performance.

Beating Sinner at Wimbledon would require a near-perfect display, and it will be intriguing to see if Vukic can perform at an extraordinary level to topple the No. 1 seed.

Tournament so far

Jannik Sinner:

First round: vs. Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0

Aleksandar Vukic:

First round: vs. Tseng Chun-hsin 6-3 6-4 4-6 7-6[5]

Head To Head

Sofia (2022) - Quarter-finals: Sinner 6-2 6-3  

Melbourne (2021) - Round of 32: Sinner 6-2 6-4

Sinner and Vukic face each other on the ATP Tour for the first time since 2022, with the Italian No. 1 leading 2-0 in their head-to-head.    

The top-ranked player has not lost to a competitor ranked No. 90 or lower since Mikael Ymer beat him in Davis Cup action in 2022, underscoring the 23-year-old's dominance over lower-ranked rivals.    

As for Vukic, he goes into Thursday's clash with a 1-6 record against top-10 players, with his only win coming in last year's Shanghai Masters upset over Casper Ruud, which diminishes his prospects against the leading men's player.  

We say: Sinner to win in three sets

It is unlikely that anything other than a straightforward win for Sinner will unfold in the second-round contest.    

The top seed, who has won 31 successive matches against players ranked below No. 90, is heavily favoured to beat Vukic in three sets on Thursday, setting up a third-round encounter with Pedro Martinez or Mariano Navone.

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