- Sinner Survives Wimbledon Scare as Defending Champion Battles Into Second Round
Defending Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner overcame an early scare and a physical battle to begin his title defence with a hard-fought five-set victory over Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic on a dramatic opening day at the All England Club.
The world number one looked on the brink of a stunning first-round exit after twice falling behind against the inspired Serbian, but showed the resilience of a champion to recover and seal a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 victory in a contest that lasted three hours and 30 minutes.
With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined through injury, Sinner entered this year’s Championships as the overwhelming favourite to retain the title. However, questions remained over his fitness and endurance following his shock second-round exit at the French Open earlier this month.
Those concerns resurfaced as Kecmanovic repeatedly pushed the Italian to his limits on Centre Court.
The Serbian claimed the opening set before Sinner responded to level the contest. Kecmanovic then edged a tense third-set tie-break to move within one set of producing one of the biggest upsets in Wimbledon history.
At that stage, Sinner was in danger of becoming only the third defending men’s singles champion to lose in the opening round of the tournament.
The Italian also endured an injury scare during the third set after slipping on the baseline. The fall resulted in a broken toenail, leaving blood visible on his white shoe as he continued the match.
Despite the discomfort, Sinner regained control from the fourth set onwards, raising his level when it mattered most to complete an impressive comeback.
Speaking after the match, the 24-year-old admitted he struggled to find his rhythm early on.
“It was a little tight in the beginning. I didn’t play at my best, but I tried to get into it. It was my first official match on grass this season, which is also a very important factor,” Sinner said.
“I’m happy I turned it around because the third set was a very tough one to swallow.”
He also downplayed fears over his foot injury, joking that he was surprised officials allowed him to continue after blood stained his all-white Wimbledon attire.
The victory was Sinner’s 94th career Grand Slam match win, drawing him level with Italian tennis great Nicola Pietrangeli for the most major singles victories by an Italian player.
While Sinner survived, several seeded players were not as fortunate.
Eleventh seed Casper Ruud suffered a straight-sets defeat to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who produced an outstanding serving display to win 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7).
Twelfth seed Andrey Rublev also crashed out after a thrilling five-set battle against fellow Russian Roman Safiullin. Rublev missed two match points before losing the deciding tie-break 14-12 in one of the day’s most dramatic encounters.
The women’s draw also produced its share of surprises.
French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska suffered a heartbreaking defeat after falling and injuring herself while holding match point against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew. The Pole eventually lost 2-6, 7-5, 6-2.
Former US Open champion Naomi Osaka enjoyed a much smoother afternoon, defeating France’s Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 7-5 to advance comfortably.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula also progressed with a straight-sets victory over Darja Vidmanova, while Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic ended the Wimbledon debut of British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic.
It was, however, a disappointing opening day for the home fans.
British hopes suffered a major blow even before play began after Jack Draper withdrew from the tournament with an arm injury, following Emma Raducanu’s withdrawal on the eve of the Championships.
Those absences were compounded by defeats for every British player who took to the court on Monday.
British number one Cameron Norrie was among the casualties, losing a gruelling five-set contest to American qualifier Michael Zheng.
Elsewhere, former US Open champion Daniil Medvedev made a strong start to his campaign, easing past veteran Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.
Two rising stars also caught the eye on the opening day.
Brazil’s teenage sensation Joao Fonseca defeated Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut in straight sets, while 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar marked his Wimbledon debut with an impressive victory over British wildcard Felix Gill.
