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'I'm not as good as Carlos Alcaraz!' - Jannik Sinner gives amusing interview in front of Rory McIlroy after second-round win at Wimbledon

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Golfing royalty was present for Jannik Sinner's second-round Wimbledon victory over Nuno Borges, with Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose situated on Centre Court to witness the Italian's straight-sets win. Sinner, defending his title in west London, came through 7-6(4) 7-6(2) 6-4 to reach the third round.

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It was an improved display from Sinner following a five-set win against Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round, a performance which highlighted his lack of grass-court preparations, having only played an exhibition match on the surface since crashing out of the French Open in the second round.

With world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz absent for the grass-court swing, owing to a wrist injury which also saw him sidelined for Roland-Garros, Sinner bears the weight of being labelled favourite in the men's draw - which would be his first major since beating Alcaraz in last year's Wimbledon final.

The competitive on-court rivalry between the men's top two has been sorely missed in Paris, and now in the English capital.

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But Sinner dispelled any idea that their golfing skill sets are quite as comparable.

"I'm not as good as Carlos, that's for sure," Sinner said on Centre Court on Wednesday.

"I’m very sure if you would lay a golf ball, I would hit everything except for the ball. Still a little to improve [on]."

Looking up to the stands, where six-time major champion McIlroy and 2013 US Open winner Rose watched on, Sinner said: "Of course, to play in front of all of you has been amazing.

"A lot of tennis players play a lot of golf, I play just to enjoy. Some take it a little more seriously, but I'm happy how I handle it."

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Sinner is looking to put an end to his relatively disappointing Grand Slam form, in comparison to his general dominance in men's tennis.

He became the first player to win five successive ATP 1000 Masters titles ahead of the French Open, where he wilted in the Paris heat in a second-round defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

His French Open disappointment followed his failure to defend the Australian Open title, falling in an exhilarating semi-final to Novak Djokovic. He was outclassed by Carlos Alcaraz in last year's US Open final, and faces the threat of holding no majors if he does not win Wimbledon this month.

And he was pleased to shake off some more rust on Wednesday.

"We are going to see this, of course, especially the first match, I felt the lack of matches," Sinner said. "Also today, a couple of moments, I need to get back to this rhythm, but overall, if we watch the scoreboard, it was very close.

"These matches, especially individual sets, help me a lot. Of course, we aim to improve, we aim to get a little bit better. Tomorrow is a day off, yesterday I didn't do a lot, because the first match was five sets and very long, so happy about today, and we see what's coming."

Sinner will face Jenson Brooksby in the third round.

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