Jannik Sinner dug deep with a blood-stained white trainer to snap his five-set losing streak and begin the defence of his Wimbledon title with victory over Miomir Kecmanovic.
The 2025 champion in SW19 had not played competitively since a shock second-round loss at the French Open last month and looked in trouble on day one against inspired Serbian rival Kecmanovic, especially after a painful slip in set three on Centre Court.
Sinner battled on despite blood being visible through his right Nike trainer and banished painful memories of five-set defeats to Juan Manuel Cerundolo and Novak Djokovic at majors earlier this year to triumph 4-6 6-3 6-7 (6) 6-2 6-3.
Victory in three hours and 30 minutes will answer some questions of Sinner’s durability after he had lost eight of his previous nine five-set matches, including five in a row before this nervy win.
Sinner admitted to being ‘a little tight’ in the early stages of the match
After Sinner lost a close tight-break in set three, the four-time grand-slam winner rediscovered his best form to win five games in a row and a 31st ace of a gruelling contest helped the Italian get the better of Kecmanovic to progress into round two.
“I was a little tight at the beginning, I didn’t play my very best but I tried to get into it and it was my first official match on grass. I am very happy and a big honour to play in front of you,” Sinner said.
Quizzed on the red on his trainer, Sinner said: “No, I am good. It just seems much worse than it is!
“Actually very surprised they let me keep playing because (normally) all white and (now) a little red, but no I didn’t want to disturb. We both had a good rhythm, it was a great match from both of us and I didn’t want to take any time.
“There is a lot of nerves when you go down the stairs behind the courts and also mentally knowing it is such a prestigious court, a historic court and coming here as defending champion meant a lot. I am very happy to win the first one.”
American qualifier and world number 144 Michael Zheng stunned top British player Cam Norrie, seeded 26, with a thrilling 6-7(7) 6-2 6-7(2) 6-3 7-6(10-4) victory, marking his maiden Grand Slam win.
Norrie’s exit deals another blow to British hopes, following the earlier withdrawals of Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper due to injuries.
Meanwhile, Hubert Hurkacz continued the upsets in the men’s singles draw, defeating 11th seed Casper Ruud 6-4 6-2 7-6(7).
World number 132 Roman Safiullin knocked out 12th seed Andrey Rublev after a battle lasting nearly four hours. Safiullin won 6-4 6-7(6) 3-6 6-3 7-6 (14-12), saving two match points on the road to victory.
Nineteen-year-old Spaniard Rafa Jodar reached the second round on his Wimbledon debut with a 6-3 6-3 7-5 win over British wildcard Felix Gill.
Denis Shapovalov, a 2021 semi-finalist, retired after crashing into the corner fence while facing set point in the second set, handing Pablo Carreno Busta his first Wimbledon victory at the age of 34 after an 0-7 record.
Additional reporting: Reuters