London: Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon title defence gathered pace on Friday as the world number one swept aside American Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 to enter the fourth round and reinforce his status as the man to beat at the All England Club.
Having been dragged into a five-set battle in his opener and forced to negotiate two tiebreaks in the next, the Italian looked increasingly at home on the grass of Court One and gave Brooksby very few opportunities to disrupt his rhythm.
The 24-year-old got down to business with little interest in another energy-sapping encounter on a warm afternoon, grabbing a break for a 4-3 lead after Brooksby sent his forehand long, and then motoring through the opening set in only 37 minutes.
World number 81 Brooksby looked to mix it up and drew Sinner to the net more in the next set, but there would be no payoff as the four-times Grand Slam champion countered it with his superb movement and swiftly doubled his lead in the match.
Women’s top seed Aryna Sabalenka reached the fourth round by defeating Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets 6-4 6-4.
Jessica Pegula continued her impressive grass-court campaign with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 victory over Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro on Friday to reach the fourth round at Wimbledon without dropping a set.
The fourth seed needed just 53 minutes to defeat the world No. 52, showing a polished performance that improved her record on grass this season to 7-1.
Pegula took control from the start, jumping to a 4-0 lead before easily winning the opening set 6-1. Bouzas Maneiro had little chance to settle into the match.
The American faced her only real test early in the second set. After saving a break point in the first game, she lost her serve in the third and fell behind briefly. However, the 2024 US Open runner-up responded quickly. She broke back in consecutive return games and won four straight games to regain complete control before finishing with another straight-sets victory.
Aside from that brief moment of distraction, Pegula delivered an almost perfect performance, winning 79 percent of points on her first serve and hitting 12 winners.
Naomi Osaka powered into the fourth round of Wimbledon for the first time, dismantling Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-3 in just 65 minutes to complete a career milestone by reaching the second week at all four Grand Slam tournaments.
Seeded 14th, Osaka delivered one of her strongest performances on grass, dropping just four games as she secured her first appearance in the Wimbledon last 16. The victory also completed her career set of Grand Slam fourth-round appearances.
She had previously reached the second week three times at the Australian Open, winning the title twice, once at the French Open, and four times at the US Open, where she is also a two-time champion.
On the otherhand, 16th seed Iva Jovic beat Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-3 3-6 6-4.
Moreover, Jan-Lennard Struff stunned 8th seed Daniil Medvedev 7-6 7-6 7-5 to reach the fourth round on Friday.
Russian qualifier Roman Safiullin wiped away tears after beating Brazilian rising star João Fonseca 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 to reach the fourth round.
Safiullin, ranked No. 132, dealt with a knee injury last year but this week has eliminated two seeded opponents at the All England Club. He surprised 12th-seeded Andrey Rublev in the first round. Fonseca was seeded No. 24.
The 28-year-old Safiullin, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist in 2023, became emotional when he described his journey back.
Roman Safiullin marked one of the most emotional victories of his career as the Russian battled back from months of injury frustration to defeat Brazil's Joao Fonseca 6-3, 6-3, 6-3.
The 28-year-old arrived at the All England Club without a single tour-level win in 2026. He put on a strong performance against the teenage Brazilian, winning in straight sets in just two hours and nine minutes. This match matched his best result at the grass-court Grand Slam since reaching the quarter-finals in 2023.
Rafael Jodar, the NextGenATP star from Spain, came up trumps once again, rallying from a set down, conjuring a piece of Grand Slam magic to win in five sets, which kept his debut campaign at Wimbledon alive.
The Spaniard rallied to a 3-6, 6-3, 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 win against his countryman Pablo Carreno Busta in a match that was suspended on Wednesday evening due to darkness. The two players returned to No. 2 Court with Carreno Busta leading by two sets to one and Jodar 2-1 ahead on serve in the fourth set. Jodar went on to rally for a three-hour, 43-minute victory.
Veteran Bulgarian stylist Grigor Dimitrov spoke of how he managed to banish his injury fears after he pushed himself to the limit in a stunning 7-6(5), 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 defeat of fast-rising Czech youngster Jacub Mensik.
Almost a year to the day since the 35-year-old suffered heartbreak in the fourth round when he led Jannik Sinner by two sets only to tear a right pectoral muscle and retire, Dimitrov rolled back the years. Agencies
Also Read: Dhoni, Djokovic both have rare quality to stay calm when it matters most’: Deepti Sharma