Jannik Sinner was calm yet obviously pleased; Pedro Martinez was smiling and appeared genuinely happy with his lot despite the 6-1, 6-3, 6-1 rout he had suffered.

Martinez had survived, he had entertained the crowd and that was all he could have asked for on a tough day. Playing with an injured shoulder made his task all but impossible but he had done his best. And Sinner had been immaculate in the execution of his game plan and the execution of Martinez’s chances.

“Obviously I’m very happy but I think we all saw today that he was struggling with the shoulder,” Sinner said. “He couldn’t serve very well. And especially on this surface, when you don’t serve well it’s not easy to play.

“But huge respect to him to come out here and compete. It was not easy for him.

“Every time you reach the second week of a Grand Slam it’s special. So I’m very happy to be in the second week but we try to keep going, keep pushing. But, of course, the first week couldn’t have gone better.”

This was all new for Martinez. He was attempting to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam for the first time; he had not won a match on grass on his way to The Championships (in fact he had not won a grass court match since Eastbourne 2022) and he had never set foot on Centre Court before. And he had never played a world No.1 before.

As if all of that would not make him nervous, every time he looked up, he saw a host of sports legends sitting in the Royal Box. No wonder Martinez looked tentative in the opening exchanges.

Of more pressing concern for the Spaniard was his serve. Or lack of it. He was hitting his forehand harder than his first delivery – and that is seldom a winning tactic. After 20 minutes, he called for the trainer and all became clear.

His right shoulder was heavily taped and he was in obvious pain whenever he raised his arm.

After a bit of massage and hot cream, Martinez was ready to continue but he was already 5-0 down. No matter, the trainer had worked his magic and even if his serve was now only just creeping over the 100mph mark, it was faster than before.

He held serve to love, which brought a huge smile to his face and a huge cheer from the crowd. The set was a lost cause but the tension had been released and the nerves had gone.

A glimmer of hope for the world No.52 was that his injury might distract Sinner as much as it was hindering him. It is not uncommon for a wounded challenger to unsettle the favourite – there is no rhythm or pattern to the match, the favourite does not know what is coming next, it can get messy.

There was a hint of that once Martinez settled into the second set. But only a hint.

Not only had the world No.1 not dropped a set on his way to the third round, he had not dropped serve. He has been untouchable so far but to look at him, you have to wonder how.

Tall and slender, he looks delicate. Or he does until he hits the ball; he cracks it off both flanks and it flies like a bullet. And he has been hitting this way since he was 12 years old.

Sadly for Martinez, his only chance of success was to trade blows from the baseline with this perfectly engineered groundstroke machine (any shot played below shoulder height was playable; it was only the serve that was the problem).

And then he had to hope that Sinner lost concentration. Or that he, Martinez, could conjure up a magnificent winner.

Now and again, Martinez got his wish and, after 71 minutes, he had a break point, the first of four in the eighth game of the second set. But Sinner never gave him the chance to convert any of them.

For such a quietly spoken and polite man, the Italian is an absolute brute with a racket in his hand.

Still, at least Martinez was enjoying himself now. He was able to play with reasonable freedom (apart from the serve) and he could show off what had taken him to the third round in the first place.

He has a good return, he has touch at the net and he knows how to construct a point. Had his right shoulder been 100 per cent, he could have posed more of a challenge. But even then, few would bet their house on Sinner losing.

So few men can threaten him on any surface.

As it was, Martinez was doing the best he could with what he had – and it was simply not enough to hurt his opponent. As the third set ran away from him, he was in serious danger of losing the set 6-0.

He got a huge round of applause as he went to serve to stay in the set. That brought a smile to his face. When he won that game, the cheers rang out from every section of the stands and he looked absolutely delighted.

It was a small victory but it was a victory nonetheless. Martinez’s Centre Court debut had not gone according to plan but he would never forget it.

Jannik Sinner, on the other hand, was on course for the sharp end of The Championships.

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