Lorenzo Sonego emerged from the longest battle of the day, a four-hour-22-minute contest against Canada’s Gabriel Diallo, to lead an Italian clean sweep into the third round of Wimbledon on Thursday. The world number 69 prevailed 7-6(4), 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-7(6), 6-2 on Court 14, setting up a meeting with American sixth seed Taylor Fritz. Hours later, Matteo Berrettini, the 2021 finalist, delivered a composed 6-4, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 victory over French 20th seed Arthur Fils on Centre Court, while Flavio Cobolli, a quarter-finalist here last year, defeated Australia’s James Duckworth 7-6(4), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-1. The trio joined world number one Jannik Sinner, who had advanced a day earlier, marking the first time four Italian men have reached the last 32 at the Championships in the Open era, according to Italian media.

Sonego’s marathon required every reserve of stamina. He twice held a set lead only for Diallo, ranked 88th, to force a decider by edging a fourth-set tiebreak. The Italian then broke early in the fifth and closed out the match with a second break. Berrettini, meanwhile, relied on his formidable serve and forehand to subdue Fils, a rising star of the ATP Tour. The Italian broke in the opening game of the fourth set and never faced a break point thereafter, sealing victory in two hours and 51 minutes. Cobolli, seeded ninth, recovered from losing the second set to dominate the latter stages against Duckworth, breaking serve five times in the final two sets. The only Italian setback came in the women’s draw, where 18-year-old qualifier Tyra Grant fell 7-5, 6-3 to Czech 21st seed Marie Bouzkova.

Elsewhere, the leading contenders continued to move efficiently through the draw. Third seed Alexander Zverev, fresh from his Roland Garros title, dismissed Frenchman Valentin Royer 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(3) to record his 50th tour-level grass-court win, as noted by Asian media. The German, who has never passed the fourth round at Wimbledon, next faces American Marcos Giron. Defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek needed just 67 minutes to beat 2021 runner-up Karolina Pliskova 6-2, 6-2, a performance she described as "more stable" than her emotional first-round escape. Seventh seed Novak Djokovic, meanwhile, combined vintage tennis with a moment of levity: during his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Stefanos Tsitsipas, he jokingly pretended a ball girl had hurt him while removing a tag from his shirt, a prank that Indian media reported went viral. The 39-year-old later said such antics surface "when you’re two sets to love up rather than two sets to love down."

British interest was sustained by wildcard Arthur Fery, who beat Otto Virtanen in four sets to reach the third round for the first time, while Jan Choinski and Jacob Fearnley were scheduled later. In the women’s event, second seed Elena Rybakina and sixth seed Amanda Anisimova also advanced. The third-round line-up now pits Sonego against Fritz, Berrettini against the winner of Jakub Mensik and Grigor Dimitrov, and Cobolli against Russian 19th seed Karen Khachanov. Sinner, the top seed, will face American Jenson Brooksby, while Djokovic meets Arthur Rinderknech. With four Italian men in the last 32, the nation’s tennis federation can already reflect on its deepest collective run at the All England Club.