{"id":780508,"date":"2026-07-05T11:53:23","date_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:53:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/780508\/"},"modified":"2026-07-05T11:53:23","modified_gmt":"2026-07-05T11:53:23","slug":"wimbledon-recap-day-5-novak-djokovic-and-jannik-sinner-stay-on-collision-course","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/780508\/","title":{"rendered":"Wimbledon recap Day 5: Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner stay on collision course"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships<\/a>. <\/p>\n

Welcome to the Wimbledon briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will explain the stories behind the stories on each day of the tournament.<\/p>\n

On Day 5, the two alpha dogs in the men\u2019s draw rolled on, a great champion broke new ground and it was time to look deeper into a surprise result.<\/p>\n

How did the top men in the top half take care of business?<\/p>\n

A Wimbledon semifinal between defending champion and top seed Jannik Sinner and seven-time winner Novak Djokovic feels increasingly inevitable.<\/p>\n

The main obstacles in front of them are not their next couple of opponents, but extraneous factors. In Sinner\u2019s case, it\u2019s the potential for warmer weather next week, which has been his kryptonite previously<\/a>. In Djokovic\u2019s case, it\u2019s the fact that at 39, he needs to keep his matches relatively quick lest he run out of energy in the latter rounds.<\/p>\n

Italy\u2019s Sinner, 24, hasn\u2019t been at his devastating best yet and was uncharacteristically up and down again against Jenson Brooksby on Friday. Sinner was broken twice in the third set, but returned well enough to get the match done, 6-4, 6-3, 6-4.<\/p>\n

\u201cA small step forward,\u201d Sinner said of his performance in a post-match news conference.<\/p>\n

Why are there no pigeons at Wimbledon?<\/p>\n

Tifo Sports<\/p>\n

Serbia\u2019s Djokovic had a trickier time of it against France\u2019s No. 25 seed Arthur Rinderknech, but won 7-5, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4) in just over three hours. The length of the match was significant given the need for energy preservation<\/a> that Djokovic spoke about last year and at the French Open in May. The relative speed of the match for a four-setter was, in part, down to a rapid third set that took barely 20 minutes, and which Djokovic seemed pretty uninterested in after Rinderknech had raced to a 4-0 lead.<\/p>\n

He was impressively able to lock back in for the fourth set, which he took on a tiebreak. Djokovic also said in his post-match news conference that he feels fresher than he did in Paris, and that the grass takes less out of him than the clay.<\/p>\n

Not that they especially need it, but the draws for their next-round matches have been kind to Sinner and Djokovic. Both are up against qualifiers, a rare occurrence in the fourth round of a Slam. Sinner takes on Japan\u2019s world No. 151 Shintaro Mochizuki, while Djokovic is up against Roman Safiullin, the Russian 2023 Wimbledon quarterfinalist now ranked No. 132 after a string of injuries.<\/p>\n

Sinner would then have an unseeded opponent in the quarters \u2014 either Poland\u2019s Hubert Hurkacz or Germany\u2019s Jan-Lennard Struff. For Djokovic, it would be either F\u00e9lix Auger-Aliassime, the Canadian No. 3 seed who has little grass-court pedigree, or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the No. 22 seed from Spain who won his first ATP Tour title on the grass at the Mallorca Championships last month.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Charlie Eccleshare<\/p>\n

How did Naomi Osaka reach a grass milestone?<\/p>\n

A year ago, when Naomi Osaka lost in the third round of Wimbledon, she was seriously annoyed<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It didn\u2019t matter that grass had troubled her throughout her career. Her section of the draw was wide open. She had an opportunity. She felt like she had lost something.<\/p>\n

Maybe that was the beginning of Osaka\u2019s evolution on grass. She made the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time Friday, beating Australia\u2019s Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I was going to return serve, like 120 mph was coming, so I mean it makes it difficult,\u201d Kasatkina said in a news conference. \u201cYou have a lot of pressure on yourself because if you will lose your serve, it\u2019s basically you\u2019re in a very tough situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Naomi<\/p>\n

\n Naomi Osaka reached a grass milestone at this year\u2019s Wimbledon. (Adrian Dennis \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Opponents haven\u2019t historically felt that sort of pressure against Osaka on grass. They do now. She said in her news conference that she has finally started getting used to the free-flowing nature of grass-court tennis. She\u2019s using the surface to help her, not fighting it.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s working \u2014 almost as well as those walk-on outfits that have become the talk of the tournament<\/a>.<\/p>\n

She faces world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, who beat Latvia\u2019s Jelena Ostapenko 6-4, 6-4, next. That should be a big moment on Centre Court for their fourth meeting of the year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the Centre Court here for some reason might be the scariest Centre Court to me,\u201d Osaka said. \u201cGoing down those stairs, it\u2019s the opening, like this huge dome. I feel more aware of it than any other Centre Court that I\u2019ve ever played on.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Matt Futterman<\/p>\n

When is an upset not an upset?<\/p>\n

At first glance, an elder qualifier beating a highly rated teenage seed seems like it would be a huge upset. In the case of Roman Safiullin\u2019s defeat of No. 24 seed Jo\u00e3o Fonseca 6-3, 6-3, 6-3? Not so much.<\/p>\n

Safiullin, 28, was world No. 36 as recently as 2024 and made the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2023. He hit over 40 winners against Fonseca and made just 18 unforced errors, saving several break points as the 19-year-old Brazilian tried to find a way back into the contest.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was playing very aggressive, going for the shots, going for the net,\u201d Fonseca said in a news conference after the match. \u201cHe was courageous in the important points. Most of the important points he went to the net, went for the ball, and I couldn\u2019t get the opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course, sometimes was my fault, but it happens. \u2026 I mean, even on grass, which is faster, the serves are difficult to return. I don\u2019t think it was all my fault.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Roman<\/p>\n

\n Roman Safiullin reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2023. (Adrian Dennis \/ AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Before Safiullin turned pro, he won the Australian Open junior title and promptly suffered severe injuries to his shoulder and ankle that hindered his development. More recently, the Russian was out between last September and this February. There is little wonder why he was in tears on No. 2 Court after beating Fonseca to set up a fourth-round match against Djokovic.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter U.S. Open, I had to stop to treat my injury,\u201d Safiullin said in his on-court interview. \u201cThat time was super tough. Even half a year ago, I didn\u2019t know if I\u2019d be able to be back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitness comes and goes, but talent does not go away.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t mean there were no upsets. Jan-Lennard Struff, the 36-year-old German who came through five sets in both his first- and second-round matches, stunned No. 8 seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6(4), 7-6(5), 7-5, despite Medvedev leading by a break of serve in each of the first two sets and by two breaks in the third. And Mochizuki, the qualifier from Japan, defeated Spanish No. 23 seed Rafael J\u00f3dar \u2014 one of Fonseca\u2019s peers<\/a> \u2014 1-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4. Mochizuki will meet Sinner in the fourth round while Struff will face Hurkacz, who defeated No. 21 seed Tommy Paul of the U.S. 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5, 6-2.<\/p>\n

\u2014 James Hansen<\/p>\n

How does playing against a compatriot change a match?<\/p>\n

While it isn\u2019t rare in tennis to play against a compatriot, most players agree that sharing nationality with an opponent adds meaning to a match.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s often a level of intimacy which, if the players are close in age, can stem from having grown up together within a national federation. If they\u2019re not, odds are they\u2019ve gotten to know each other through playing team competitions such as the Davis Cup or the Billie Jean King Cup.<\/p>\n

For Wimbledon No. 4 seed Jessica Pegula, U.S. tennis is so well represented at major tournaments these days that facing another American is motivating because it activates her competitive side. She wants to come out as the top American \u2014 and beyond that, she wants to represent U.S. tennis well and give the fans a good match.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m always motivated to beat the other Americans in a way that\u2019s different,\u201d she said in a news conference after beating Spain\u2019s J\u00e9ssica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 6-3 in the third round. \u201cNot like I don\u2019t like them or anything like that. \u2026 There\u2019s so many of us that there is always like this push-and-pull kind of battle in a fun way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pegula should be feeling extra fiery for her next couple of matches. She faces American Iva Jovi\u0107<\/a> in the fourth round, a fast-rising 18-year-old who was born in California to a Serbian father and a Croatian mother.<\/p>\n

Jovi\u0107 is a natural mover on grass and is self-assured, with an aggressive game and preternatural poise that makes it easy for her to move on when she makes mistakes on court \u2014 her go-to move when her serve abandoned her Friday in a tight 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 third-round win against No. 18 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova was to shoot a glare and a spectacular eye-roll at her coaching box, then promptly reset.<\/p>\n

Jovi\u0107 plans to rely on that same short-term memory in Sunday\u2019s match against Pegula, to whom she\u2019s lost twice this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just kind of how it is,\u201d Jovi\u0107 said in a news conference. \u201cEarly in your career, you\u2019re probably going to lose your first couple meetings against players who are already at the top, until you find your groove. And I think I have been proving in general that I\u2019m getting closer, that I\u2019m climbing, and playing better and better tennis. I hope that that can show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t take too much weight to the fact that she\u2019s beaten me twice, because I\u2019m at a stage where I feel like I\u2019m constantly changing as a player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pegula\u2019s changing, too, growing more comfortable on Wimbledon\u2019s grass after a first-round exit last year and a second-round exit in 2024. She\u2019s well aware of the dangers of facing a fellow American \u2014 a younger, hungry American playing freely with little to lose, at that.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know she\u2019s going to come after me hard,\u201d Pegula said. \u201cI\u2019ll use that as motivation and try to be ready for as much as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Ava Wallace<\/p>\n

Other notable results on Day 5:
\nSwitzerland\u2019s\u00a0Belinda Bencic (11) set up a fourth-round clash with Coco Gauff (7) by defeating Russia\u2019s Anna Kalinskaya (19)\u00a06-4, 4-6, 7-6(6). Gauff got past\u00a0Claire Liu (Q), also of the U.S., with a 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-2 win.
\nCanada\u2019s\u00a0Auger-Aliassime (3) defeated qualifier\u00a0Michael Zheng of the U.S. 7-6(1), 6-2, 6-1.
\nShot\u00a0of the day<\/p>\n

Novak Djokovic and Arthur Rinderknech ended their match with a superb point that left both men flat out on the grass:<\/p>\n

\"\"Drop Shots<\/p>\n

\u26bd Why one rising American tennis star<\/a> credits soccer for her success on grass during the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udf93 For this player\u2019s senior year, it was all about graduation and Grand Slams<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udc97 Why Wimbledon holds a special place<\/a> in one doubles star\u2019s heart.<\/p>\n

Up next: Third round continues<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Alexandra Eala (29) vs. Iga \u015awi\u0105tek (3)<\/p>\n

8:30 a.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Unlimited<\/p>\n

Eala announced herself to the tennis world by beating \u015awi\u0105tek at last year\u2019s Miami Open<\/a>. \u015awi\u0105tek got a measure of revenge at the Madrid Open \u2014 played on clay \u2014 so by the end of this Centre Court meeting, they will have played on all three surfaces. Eala, the 21-year-old from the Philippines, can stay low to the grass and fizz the ball over the net to rush 25-year-old \u015awi\u0105tek\u2019s preparation. But the 2025 champion from Poland met a similar challenge in her previous round against 2021 finalist Karol\u00edna Pl\u00ed\u0161kov\u00e1 and won easily. Eala\u2019s movement, especially parallel to the baseline, will be key to her chances.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Women\u2019s singles: Amanda Anisimova (6) vs. Madison Keys (26)<\/p>\n

10:30 a.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Unlimited<\/p>\n

As with Sabalenka and Ostapenko\u2019s third-round match, pray for the tennis balls. Anisimova, a finalist last year, found her serve just at the right time to scrape past Sofia Kenin in the previous round, with her timing on her forehand having been all over the place. But the 24-year-old American much prefers playing the likes of Keys, 31, in matches that can descend into first-strike blitzes. Don\u2019t look for a ton of long rallies in this one.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Grigor Dimitrov (WC) vs. Matteo Berrettini<\/p>\n

12:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Unlimited<\/p>\n

A real opportunity for two proper grass-court players to make an impact in the bottom half of a wide-open men\u2019s draw. Berrettini, 30, and Dimitrov, 35, can both pelt serves into the corners of the boxes and cut the ball low to the court with their slice backhands. They are both also recovering from periods of injury and rehab \u2014 Bulgaria\u2019s Dimitrov for the first real time in his career; Italy\u2019s Berrettini, the latest of many. Berrettini has an edge on serve, but Dimitrov\u2019s topspin backhand is far more penetrating and may prove the difference.<\/p>\n

\ud83c\udfbe Men\u2019s singles: Frances Tiafoe (17) vs. Alexander Bublik (10)<\/p>\n

1 p.m. ET on ESPN, ESPN Unlimited<\/p>\n

Two entertainers who can light up a tennis court with aggressive, creative play. Two members of the top 20 who have struggled with motivation and never quite know whether or not they can, or will, or have the will to produce their best tennis. But all of a sudden, they are in a land of opportunity at a Grand Slam. Who will seize the moment?<\/p>\n

Wimbledon 2026 women\u2019s bracketWimbledon 2026 men\u2019s bracket<\/p>\n

Tell us what you noticed on the fifth day\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 Wimbledon Championships. Welcome to the Wimbledon briefing, where The Athletic\u00a0will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":780509,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[565],"tags":[64,63,2331,10018,85,3276,747],"class_list":["post-780508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tennis","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-culture","tag-olympics","tag-sports","tag-sports-business","tag-tennis"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=780508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/780508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/780509"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=780508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=780508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=780508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}