When the men’s singles draw was announced for Wimbledon 2024, one match was circled by the tennis community: Jannik Sinner vs Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
Thankfully, both won their opening matches this week. That means this Wednesday, tennis nerds will be treated to a mouth-watering all-Italian clash on Centre Court. It’s world No 1 vs former Wimbledon finalist. The best player in the world the last six months vs one of the best players on grass the past three years.
Sinner vs Berrettini Odds
For context ahead of this blockbuster, here are the bookmakers’ odds ahead of Sinner vs Berrettini:
- Jannik Sinner @ 1.16 | -600
- Matteo Berrettini @ 5.00 | +400
As tantalizing as this clash is, betting sites are under no illusions with their verdict: this one is Sinner’s to lose. The world No 1 is given heavy favorite odds at 1.16 (-600), well ahead of Berrettini’s 5.00 (+400).
A -4.5 game handicap sits with Sinner for a return of 1.66 (-150), while Berrettini pays 2.10 (+110) to cover the same spread. Total games, meanwhile, is set at 38.5, with the under market paying 1.90 (-110) and 1.80 (-125) for the over market.
Set betting expects this will end in straight sets to the younger Italian, with a Sinner 3-0 result paying 2.25 (+125). The 22-year-old dropping a set isn’t inconceivable, however, with bookies paying 3.25 (+225) for Sinner winning 3-1.
Sinner vs Berrettini Preview
Jannik Sinner
Sinner comes into this match as undeniably the best player in the world right now.
The 22-year-old has recently ascended to the world No 1 ranking for the first time in his career, off the back of a semi-final run at the French Open. However, his hot form runs all the way back to September 2023.
Since the US Open last year, Sinner has won six titles, as well as the Davis Cup. This includes a maiden Grand Slam in Melbourne, where he defeated Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals, snapping his Australian dominance. In fact, over the past 10 months, Sinner has accrued an incredible 11-3 record against top five opponents, asserting himself on the world’s best.
Coming into Wimbledon, Sinner is 38-3 for the year with four titles. One of these came just 10 days ago in Halle, where the Italian lifted his first trophy on grass. In round one, he looked solid, without being impressive, overcoming Yannick Hanfmann in four sets.
Matteo Berrettini
Berrettini, on the other hand, is the dark horse that no one wants to play early in a Grand Slam.
The 28-year-old has had a challenging past few years, with a plethora of injuries keeping him away from the Tour full-time. When he has been healthy, however, the big-hitting Italian is a force to be reckoned with, particularly on grass.
The powerful serve and flat forehand of Berrettini are perfectly suited to grass court tennis. His weakness–the backhand–is mitigated nicely as well, with the low-bouncing surface rewarding slices more. This explains Berrettini’s 79.2 percent win rate on grass. The Italian has four titles on the surface, having made the Wimbledon final in 2021 as well.
Ahead of Wimbledon, Berrettini has found form quickly. He only returned to a full schedule heading into clay, where he quickly won a ninth career title in Marrakech. He’s backed that up with some strong results on grass, making the final of the Stuttgart Open a fortnight ago.
So far at Wimbledon, Berrettini has been equally solid. He faced the dangerous Marton Fucsovics in the first round, seeing off the Hungarian in four sets to set a clash against Sinner.
Sinner vs Berrettini Prediction
We say this match will well and truly live up to the hype around it. Played on Centre Court, in front of a packed crowd, with plenty on the line, these two will deliver.
Key for Berrettini will be his serve. Much of his grass court success has been built around a virtually unbreakable serve, which enables him to then play ultra-aggressive tennis on his opponent’s serve, hunting for breaks.
If he can maintain a high first serve percent and lock down his end of the court, then we expect he’ll find some pay attacking Sinner’s service games. Not enough to win the match, but there’s every chance he’ll nab a set.
Prediction: Sinner in four.
Can you pick between these two? Let us know in the comments how you see this all-Italian clash unfolding.
