Defending champion Jannik Sinner defeated Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 7-5, 7-6(5), 6-3 on No. 1 Court on Tuesday to reach the Wimbledon semifinals for the third time.

On a warm afternoon, the world No. 1 faced a different challenge against the 36-year-old German, whose powerful serve and aggressive style tested Sinner throughout the match. But Sinner proved the steadier player in the biggest moments, producing a composed performance to book the 10th Grand Slam semifinal of his career.

Struff, the oldest first-time men’s Grand Slam quarterfinalist in the Open Era, struck 12 aces, won 80 percent of his first-serve points and was particularly effective at the net, winning 27 of his 38 approaches.

Sinner, however, was outstanding on serve throughout the match. The Italian fired 16 aces, landed 65 percent of his first serves and won 84 percent of those points. He also won 50 percent of his second-serve points and had just two double faults.

Photo by: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

After taking the opening set, Sinner was pushed again in the second before winning the tiebreak. He then earned an early break in the third and closed out the match in straight sets. The top seed finished with 32 winners to 26 unforced errors, compared with 28 winners and 38 unforced errors for Struff, while also winning 114 total points to Struff’s 95.

Asked what pleased him most about his game, Sinner said:

“It felt like serving in important moments. I felt like I was serving quite intelligently today, even though I was up a break. Second set I had a drop of concentration again. I tried to stay there mentally in every service game.

“Yeah, also how I handled important moments in that match because if you lose second sets, everything can happen again. Especially with big servers, you have less control.

“That’s for sure something I can be proud of. That’s it. I felt like today was, again, a small step better because it was a very different opponent I faced until now. Big server here on grass is always tough.

“Happy about today’s performance, and now of course I try to be as ready as I can for the semis.”

Next up for the Italian is the winner of Novak Djokovic and Felix Auger-Aliassime.