Tim Henman believes only one player is capable of preventing Jannik Sinner from retaining his Wimbledon title at the All England Club.
Sinner overcame Carlos Alcaraz in an enthralling four-set contest last year to win the Wimbledon title for the first time in his career.
But the Italian arrived back at the All England Club this week with questions hanging over his title defence following his shock second-round exit in May’s French Open.
Sinner certainly showed signs of rustiness in his first match against Miomir Kecmanovic, with the 24-year-old taken to five sets before grinding out the win.
The World No1 has looked far improved in recent matches, recording straight-set victories over Nuno Borges and Jenson Brooksby to book his spot in the fourth round.
But speaking after his victory over Brooksby, Sinner admitted he still has work to do to get back to his best.
‘Very happy about the win,’ he said. ‘I’m trying to improve every day. Small step forwards today, trying to get better.
‘If I want to go far in this tournament, there are a couple of things we need to work on. He was a very tough opponent; I’m very happy about the result.’
Despite not looking his best so far in the opening week, former Wimbledon champion John McEnroe believes Sinner is still the ‘absolute’ favourite to win again at SW19 this year.
The defending champion will now face Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki in the next round, with a potential blockbuster semi-final clash against seven-time champion Novak Djokovic still a distinct possibility.
And former Wimbledon semi-finalist Henman believes the Serbian is Sinner’s biggest threat after he came through a hard-fought contest against Arthur Rinderknech to reach the fourth round.
Asked if Djokovic’s level has dropped in recent years, Henman said: ‘Not on a grass court. I think there are times, because his movement was so exceptional a few years ago, where he isn’t quite as quick.
‘But I look at his ball striking, I look at his confidence and I also look around at his fellow competitors and he’s coming into the vast majority of these matches as the favourite.
‘We’re allowed to speculate and look ahead and the only match in the only draw where he would be the underdog would be against Sinner, and that’s potentially in the semis.
‘Auger-Aliassime is seeded third, but I’d take Djokovic any day of the week. Shelton has lost; Fritz is perhaps the only other interesting one.’
Analysing Djokovic’s win over the big-serving Frenchman Rinderknech, Henman added: ‘It was a fairly predictable match in those first two sets, but Arthur Rinderknech deserves a lot of credit for his efforts in the third and fourth.
‘He really held his level and he pushed Novak Djokovic to the brink, but when Djokovic needed it most, he came up with his best tennis to take that fourth-set tie-break and the match.’
Speaking after his win, Djokovic told the BBC: ‘I think I’ve done everything I needed to do today, under circumstances that weren’t maybe as good for me as they were in the second round, and it was still enough to win.
‘At this age and stage in my career, every day brings something new and unpredictable for me. I’m hoping that I will come out at my best in a few days’ time.’
Djokovic will now face qualifier Roman Safiullin in the fourth round after he produced an impressive straight-set victory over Joao Fonseca.
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