Key events
Struff nets a backhand to give Sinner 3-1 and the mini-break; it’s 4-2 at change of ends, the champ hitting every first serve. Struff is trying his best to attack, but the precision is extreme and he’s just not got the tools to counter, soon down 5-2. He does, though, close to 4-5, meaning Sinner is under pressure … quickly alleviated with a service-winner that gives him 6-4 and set point.
Sinner holds to 30 and the match is right here: if he wins the breaker, it’s as good as over; if Struff does, who knows?
Gauff makes 40-30 then lands a serve on the outside of the T, and that’s one set apiece. She can play so, so much better than this, which is part indictment of her form, part praise for her mentality. I don’t think Pegulas has the tools to beat her today, but I’d not back her against whichever of Osaka and Muchova makes the semi.
Pegulas first serve forsakes her and Gauff tucks in, unable to win points off return but setting up the rallies and making 0-40. A double follows, and at 4-6 5-3, she’ll serve for the second set, while Struff holds to trail Sinner 5-7 6-5.
Sinner serves his way out of shtuck, three big first serves helping him to 7-5 5-5. I’m not sure he’s playing well enough to beat Djokovic, his potential semi-final opponent, but every match is different and he’s doing enough to lead in this one.
Pegula is, I think, nicely loose and playing her natural game; Gauff is relying on hitting more winners than errors. She finds herself down 0-30 just as Struff plays a lovely forehand-volley combo for 30-all, then Sinner hoiks a backhand wide and now faces a break point. He saves it well, though, a big serve good enough, while Gauff secures a tricky hold to trail 4-6 4-3.
A quick hold apiece on No 1, meaning Sinner leads 7-5 4-4, and can Struff handle the business-end pressure this time? His first-serve percentage is going in the wrong direction, but he needs just two more holds to force a breaker – at least. I actually think he’d be a threat were he playing in late-80s to mid-90s conditions, which suited serve-volleyers, but it’s not as easy now you’ve got to fight your way in, and when he turns 0-30 into 30-all, you worry for him. So it’s no great surprise when Struff hits long – nor, in fairness, when he saves break-point with a service winner – and from there, he closes out the hold to trail 5-7 5-4. That’s unlike Sinner, who I’d usually expect to force home his ascendancy, but he’s just not playing that well nor has he in quite a while now. Back on Centre, meanwhile, Pegula leads Gauff 6-4 2-3.
We’re still on serve at 7-5 2-3 Sinner but Struff makes 15-30 and might he break for the second time in a row? Well, at 40-30 he whips a tremendous forehand winner cross-court .. so of course Sinner responds with an ace, then again when brought back to deuce. From there, though, the champ closes out to lead 7-5 3-3, while Gauff is serving at 4-6 1-1 deuce … then spanks down an ace, at 126mph her joint-fastest of the competition. That gives her advantage, and she converts with emphasis, an overhead annihilated with maximum prejudice. Pegula leads 6-4 1-2.
Yes, it was roundabout 1988 I or anyone else used the word eggy to describe anger; what of it? Meanwhile, Gauff is in more trouble, down 15-40, and if she loses her serve here, she’s in big trouble. She was fortunate to beat Solana Sierra in round two and in that match, as well as against Liu and Bencic, she more or less personalitied her way to victory – it was good character rather than good play that got her through. But she makes it to deuce, retrieves a lob then hits a winner for advantage, then closes out a vital hold. Pegula will have noticed, though she leads 6-4 0-1.
A framed forehand and a double give Struff an unlikely 0-30, then at 30-all, Sinner fails to put away a ball he really should, erring as the rally progresses. Then, on break-back point, he overhits a forehand, and somehow, Struff is back in set two at 2-2. Sinner is, by his standards, very eggy with himself.
At 15-all, Pegula offers a tepid second serve so Gauff attacks it, but schlepping the ball from over her shoulder, she can only send it long, then a backhand down the line means she’s down to break points. And only one is required, a very poor forehand landing in to the net, halfway up, and Pegula leads 6-4.
Struff’s first-serve percentage is plummeting – I fear Sinner has his measure now. Two errors give him 15-30, then a backhand return is too good, earning two break points, and a forehand return then secures the break. Sinner leads 7-5 2-1 and already, this feels over; Gauff holds for 4-5, forcing Pegula to serve for the first set.
All that effort and Gauff returns her break-back in tame fashion – she plays those kinds of games far too often, and they’re one reason I was a little surprised she won majors when she did. Of course I expected her to eventually, but I didn’t think she was ready, nor ready to win in Paris; Pegula consolidates and leads 5-3 in the first.
Down 15-30, Struff finds a service-winer, but then nets a volley, letting it drop too far below the level of the net. A service-winner follows then, playing the second break point, a ball falls out of Struff’s pocket, so they go again – if it happens a second time, eh loses the point – but this time, he’s good to go, another service-winner makes deuce, and from there, the German closes out. Sinner leads 7-5 0-1.
Gauff hits the tape and the ball clambers over then drops; 0-15. And when Pegula goes wide on the backhand, she’s a chance to make something happen, lashing a return on to the line that requires too much footwork, too quickly, to get back. And when Pegula again goes wide, we have that predictable break-back, to love, and we’re back on serve at 3-3 in the first.
Up 30-0, Sinner swats wide; a mahoosive ace out wide follows, then Struff sweeps a backhand wide, and that concludes a 7-5 first set, tight until it wasn’t. There was one drop, the champ was there to take advantage, and that is a lesson in elite sport; can Struff learn from it?
Pegula, meanwhile, is playing nicely, up 3-2 with a break, but there were signs in Gauff’s last hold that she’s settling.
OK, Sinner holds for 5-5, then nails a forehand and a return; Struff can’t get close to the first, then nets the second, and at 0-30, he’s in trouble – all the more so when his first serve is long. Sure enough, Sinner’s return is on point, the riposte hitting the net, meaning hr’s three break points. The first is confiscated via ace … and the second …but then given a look at another second serve, an inside-out forehand winner secures the break, the champ upping it when he needed to, and he’ll now serve for set one at 6-5.
Oh man, serving at 4-4 15-all, Struff doinks a simple smash into the net, which both reflects and brings pressure. But from there, he secures his hold for 5-5, while Pegula consolidates to lead Gauff 2-0.
We’re away on Centre, Gauff netting a forehand for deuce, and Pegula will surely target that wing – if she has to, a netted backhand giving her advantage. And I’m afraid no one will be surprised to learn that a double follows;[Pegula leads 1-0, with a break.
Down 40-0, Struff makes room for a winner sent from corner to corner, then Sinner frames a forehand and misses a first serve; pressure. And when he goes long, again off the forehand, we move to deuce, the German floating a poor rally-ball backhand slice over the baseline, then a netted forehand hands over the hold for 4-4 – but Sinner is not yet settled.
Another love hold for Struff and suddenly, Sinner will be noticing a bit of scoreboard pressure, down 3-4 in the first. He’s not yet made any kind of impression on return, nor hit many winners, both of which are surprising.
On Centre, Gauff and Pegula are out; Pegula wins the toss and has to think for a short while before deciding to receive.
Struff makes 0-15 and is well in the next point, until he swipes a forehand wide, then he again loses patience in a 19-stroke rally, wellying wide once more. A service-winner follows for 40-15 then, offered a second serve, Struff attacks, coming in to dispatch a fine volley, doubles hands to the fore. The more situations of that ilk he can generate, the better for him, and when Sinner spins a forehand long, to deuce we go … but not for long. The champ quickly serves out, and we’re level at 3-3 in the fifth.
Now a love hold for Struff, who’s started pretty well and leads 3-2 He looks confident, but he’s not yet been put under pressure and I wonder if he can offer more testing returns. Even if he needs to stand back to give himself a better look at Sinner’s serve, he has to try and dig into it rather than hope e can struggle to a tiebreaker.
Nana Sinner appears to have been busy knitting Jannik’s top; that, or Nike have rinsed him with gear yet again.
Here he is as Luigi.
Taking advantage of the US Open dress code to rock a fetching shade of rust.
The famously complementary colours of olive, white and yellow.
Anyroad up, Struff makes deuce from 40-0 – for all the good it does him. Sinner secures the hold in short order and we’re level at 2-2 in the first.
At 30-0, Struff nails one down the T, then Sinner swipes an inside-out backhand wide and that’s another comfy hold for the German; he leads 2-1, and they’re still feeling each other out.
Er yeah, about that. Sinner holds to love for 1-1; Struff is playing the long game.
A 6”6, 36-year-old man with socks pulled up and a baseball hat on backwards; has anyone got a number for The Hague? Meantime, Struff holds to 30 and will feel much better about life; I reckon he’ll go at Sinner’s serve, especially on second delivery.
Our players are almost ready. Sinner elected to receive, perhaps hoping that Struff, at 36 the oldest man in the open era to reach a first major quarter-final, is nervous. Play.
To our first match, and how does Struff get at Sinner? Well, the unpalatable truth is I’m not sure he does – if Sinner plays properly, this isn’t a contest, whatever Struff does. But Sinner’s hitting from the back, especially down the line – usually so consistent – has been a bit off lately, so perhaps, if Struff can’t finish points early with his concussive forehand length, it might be worth seeing if he can incite the error by hitting balls deep and down the middle of the court.
More likely, though, I expect Struff to take the Stanimal approach and attack everything, hoping to hit a a seam. I also wonder if he’ll try and drop-shots, looking to get Sinner tired but also to use his doubles-generated volleying advantage.
On BBC, they note that Gauff hasn’t made a Wimbledon quarter until this year, though she made round three as a 16-year-old. Mainly, that’s because grass doesn’t suit her game as well as other surfaces – her serve isn’t where it needs to be, and it’s harder to hide her forehand than it is on clay, where theres more time to adjust feet.
Pegula, on the other hand, is a better-rounded player, but without the big weapons you need to win majors. Her returning, though. is good enough to give Gauff fits and the two, who used to play doubles together, are good mates, which adds a further dimension to this match. Bottom line: I don’t think either are ready to win this title.
Also going on:
Preamble
Wotcha and welcome to Wimbledon 2026 – day nine!
Now we’re getting serious. Two show courts, 10 players in form, and each of them tingling, contemplating the feeling of a lifetime.
We begin on No 1 Court with Jannik Sinner, one of only two players in either draw to have won this title before. But, after an astounding run earlier in the year, his body failed him at Roland Garros and he hasn’t looked his usual impregnable self since.
Naturally, elite sport being the ruthless brute that it is, the other players have twigged; where once they knew they were done for, now they fancy it, and though Jan-Lennard Struff isn’t the likeliest candidate to dethrone the champ, to get to this point he’s beaten Sebástian Báez, Brandon Nakashima, Daniil Medvedev and Hubert Hurkacz. Or, in other words, he’s in form and feeling himself.
Opening up on Centre half an hour later, we’ve got Jess Pegula – desperately chasing the maiden grand slam title but constantly crashing into her athletic ceiling – against Coco Gauff, taken to a deciding set in three of her four matches so far, but one of sport’s great explorers; few are better at finding a way to win. If Pegula plays well, pulling it off isn’t beyond her and, at 32, she’s running out of time so, given the way the seeds have fallen, knows she’ll never get a better shot. She’ll tell herself to the contrary because how else can she go on, but in her heart she knows: her career is on the line here.
The match of the day, though, comes second on No 1, where Naomi Osaka, fresh from dispatching Aryna Sabalenka, now faces a very different challenge. Karolina Muchova – another chasing the debut major she’s seen players of far less talent seize – blends touch, craft and power in a way that’s ideal for grass courts. Can Osaka thrive against an opponent able to put her in uncomfortable positions and likely to haul her to the net? She’s going to have to.
Second on Centre, an interlude: Alexander Zverev leads Jiri Lehecka by two sets to love, and the pair will return locked at 3-3 in the third to finish a match called off last evening. Most likely, the no 2 seed finishes the job in short order, but both players know that if his level drops, he’s vulnerable.
Then, finally for today, we’ve Novak Djokovic – another pondering an opportunity he feared might never come, but in pursuit of the tricky 25th grand slam title that, so far, has eluded us all. Generally speaking, Felix Auger-Aliassime is exactly the kind of opponent he’d dismiss in that quest, a fine athelete unable to play well enough for long enough to beat the best in the biggest tournaments. But at 25, he might just be maturing into the player he promised to be and, if he can make it physical, he can make it happen.
Play: 1pm BST on No 1 Court, 1.30pm BST on Centre Court
