Jannik Sinner eases into Wimbledon last 16 as title defence gathers momentum

After being pushed hard in his opening two matches, the world number one looked increasingly comfortable on the grass of No. 1 Court, overcoming the world number 81 in two hours and 13 minutes to continue his title defence.

The victory sends Sinner into the Wimbledon last 16 for the fifth consecutive year, equalling the Italian men's record set by Nicola Pietrangeli and making him the youngest man since Pete Sampras in the 1990s to reach at least the fourth round in five straight editions of the tournament.

"I am very happy about the win," Sinner said.

"I'm trying to improve every day. A small step forward today and I'm trying to get better if I want to go further in this tournament. There are a couple of things I still need to do better, but I'm very happy with the result."

Sinner arrived at the All England Club with questions surrounding his form after suffering a shock second-round defeat to Juan Manuel Cerundolo at the French Open and opting not to play a grass-court warm-up event for the first time in his career.

Those concerns appeared justified when he needed five sets to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic in the opening round and was tested again by Nuno Borges in the second.

But there was little sign of vulnerability against Brooksby.

The Italian broke for a 4-3 lead in the opening set and quickly moved ahead, using his superb movement and baseline consistency to nullify Brooksby's attempts to vary the pace and draw him forward.

Brooksby briefly threatened a comeback when he broke early in the third set and later denied Sinner the chance to serve out the match at 5-3. Yet the four-time Grand Slam champion responded immediately on both occasions, raising his level when required to close out the contest.

At one stage, Sinner even broke from his usually reserved demeanour, gesturing to the crowd for more noise after winning a key point late in the third set.

While the scoreline suggested a straightforward afternoon, Sinner was not entirely flawless, committing 26 unforced errors and admitting there is still room for improvement as he seeks to become only the 10th man in the Open Era to successfully defend the Wimbledon title.

His reward is a fourth-round meeting with Japanese qualifier Shintaro Mochizuki, who defeated Spain's Rafael Jodar to continue his impressive run. 

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