The biggest challenger to Jannik Sinner’s bid to defend his Wimbledon crown was always going to be a big Serb – just maybe not this one.
With visible signs of battle including blood stains on his shoe, the World No 1 was given an almighty scare not by 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic but his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic.
The World No 50 led by two sets to one and looked to have Sinner on the ropes, forcing mistakes and a worrying fall, but was ultimately beaten in a five-set thriller.
It was a laborious and energy-zapping outing for the World No 1 on his first competitive appearance since he wilted in the Paris heat last month and was knocked out of the French Open in a huge second-round shock by then World No 56 Juan Manuel Cerundolo.
Sinner’s right shoe was stained by red blood, which he said was not as bad as it looked, and a five-set clash of three hours and 29 minutes was rather unwelcome for a man trying to ease himself into the tournament after having time off following his Roland Garros disappointment.
Jannik Sinner is into the second round at Wimbledon – but it was a painful route through
Sinner’s Nike shoes were covered in blood seeping through after a fall early in the match
‘I am good, (the blood) seems much worse than it is,’ he said. ‘I am surprised they let me keep playing because of the all-white (uniform guidelines)!
‘It was a good match from both of us so I didn’t want to disturb and take any time (with a medical time-out).’
The Italian recovered well after losing the first set but Kecmanovic soon regained the lead after triumphing in some lengthy rallies on Centre Court, which hosted famous faces such as Sir David Beckham and Dame Mary Berry, both who joined in with the Mexican Wave.
Sinner was in no mood for such pleasantries and feared he might soon wave farewell to SW19 after just one day of his title defence. But he soon settled and breezed through the next two sets to overturn the deficit and win 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 5-3.
He added on his slip over: ‘One fall is a tough one because you can get injured. But it is the most normal thing. Grass court is like this. Especially the first couple of matches when the grass is very new, you slip a little bit more.
Sinner celebrates after gritting his teeth to defeat Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic
‘I got lucky there because things can go wrong very, very quickly. I try to still trust in my movement. Also in the third, fourth and fifth set, it was very important to keep moving in a very natural way, which I did.’
Sinner, 24, is the overwhelming favourite to win for the second time at this tournament, especially noting the fact that his great contemporary rival Carlos Alcaraz, a two-time winner himself here, is out injured.
The Italian has struggled in hot weather recently, though, including losing at Roland Garros – arguably the shock of the season in tennis – where he was two sets and 5-1 up only to capitulate due to a heat-induced illness.
He also had cramps at the Shanghai Open last autumn and struggled in Melbourne at the Australian Open in January, but their heat rules meant the match was briefly halted and he came back to win.
Given temperatures are back in the mid-20s this week after a record-breaking heatwave last week, Sinner should be OK – but his team have taken extra steps to ensure he does not struggle again.
Still, a five-set test was probably not what they envisaged for a man building up his fitness again after not playing for a month.
Sinner added: ‘It is a huge honour to start the tournament. I was a little flat at the beginning, I did not play my best, it was my first official match on grass (this summer).
‘I am very happy, it is a big honour to play in front of you.
‘Coming back here as defending champion means a lot to me. I am very happy to win the first one, I will plan for a couple of improvements for the next match but I am happy.’
