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.
Instead of 24-time Grand Slam winner Novak Djokovic, it was his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic who gave top seed Sinner an almighty scare at the beginning of his title defence.
The World No 50 led by two sets to one and looked to have Sinner on the ropes, forcing mistakes and with signs of battle shown by a bleeding foot, 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 likely from his foot or toes and a five-set clash of three hours and 29 minutes would be rather unwelcome for a man trying to ease himself into the tournament after a month away from the court.
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 also 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.
Sinner celebrates after gritting his teeth to defeat Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic
Djokovic, who is second favourite behind odds-on Sinner with the bookmakers, was due on Centre Court later on Monday evening to face Wu Yibing.
Sinner, 24, said: ‘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.’
