Wimbledon 2026 results: Jannik Sinner beats tricky Nuno Borgs as he continues a tough start to his title defence.

Yannick Sinner’s Wimbledon title defense continued as he overcame a tough second-round challenge against Nuno Borges.

He needed three and a half hours to overtake the inspired world number one, Miomir Kekmanovic. In five fun sets on Monday.

But the Italian looked even more confident when he returned to Center Court two days later and defeated a resilient Borges with a patient 7-6 (7-4) 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 victory.

Portugal’s Borges, ranked 48th in the world, impressed the crowd and was the better player at times, but Sinner stepped it up and took the third set to record his ninth straight win at the All England Club.

Three-time Wimbledon singles champion John McEnroe said on BBC TV: “It’s just what the doctor ordered. Very competitive and he picked up his game.

“He’s going into Friday feeling better than Monday.”

Sinner will face American Jenson Brooksby, world number 81.

Despite suffering a seismic second-round loss at the French Open in late May, Sinner opted to compete on grass in the lead-up to Wimbledon.

It looked like the decision might come back to haunt him as he squeezed past the 50-year-old Kekmanovic in a crisp and physical match.

While not at his metronomic best against Borges, hitting 29 unforced errors, it was an improvement on his performance against Cecmanovic.

“I need to get back into the rhythm, but if you look at the scoreboard it was very close and matches like this help me a lot,” Sinner said.

“There are obviously a couple of things that need to be improved, but I’m very happy.”

In a tight opening first set, Borges impressed with a mix of hard hitting and short shots, but faded towards the end of the break and Sinner claimed control.

Sinner didn’t face a single break point in the opener, but a very short burst allowed Borges to take a break early in the second set.

But as he tried to serve out the match and level the score, the 29-year-old held firm and missed a set point, handing the break back to another not-so-sinful error.

More losses cost him a break in the final as Sinner charged and the four-time major winner recovered from a poor opening service game in the third set to seal victory after two hours and 32 minutes.

1987 Wimbledon champion Pat Cash said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “When you look at the final result, that’s great, especially considering the way Borges played in the first two sets.

“It’s not all pouring out for Sinner yet, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be. If he can mark his hands at 95%, that’s good.”