World No. 1 Jannik Sinner rallied from two sets to one down to defeat Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 in his Wimbledon first-round match on Centre Court, overcoming rust, a bleeding foot, and questions about his five-set durability.
Sinner's five-set demons confronted
The Italian entered the match with a career five-set record of six wins and 12 defeats, a statistic that had drawn criticism after his shocking collapse at the French Open, where he lost 18 of the final 20 games after leading 6-3, 6-2, 5-1 against Juan Manuel Cerúndolo. Since then, Sinner underwent tests and adjusted his on-court work to prevent such a recurrence.
On Monday, he faced a determined Kecmanovic, who played boldly and forced the issue. Sinner admitted he was tight early. "I was a little tight at the beginning, I didn't play my very best," he said. "I tried to get into it, it was my first official match on grass. This also is very important – happy that I turned it around because the third set was a very tough one to swallow."
A shaky start and a bloody fall
Sinner looked tense from the opening set. Leading 40-0 on his serve at 4-4, he hit consecutive double faults and a forehand error to gift Kecmanovic the break and the set. After leveling the match by taking the second set, he fell heavily at the start of the third, causing his right foot to bleed through his shoe. Despite the visible blood, Sinner said, "I'm good. It just seems much worse than it is. Very surprised that they let me keep playing because, you know, all white, it turned into a little red. But I didn't want to disturb Miomir."
Kecmanovic won the third-set tie-break 8-6, taking the ball early and redirecting brilliantly to establish a two-sets-to-one lead.
Resurgence and dominance
Sinner took a short break between sets and returned with renewed focus. He served brilliantly from the start of the fourth set, firing a career-best 31 aces overall. He became unusually demonstrative, pairing fist pumps with audible shouts of "let's go." He dominated from the baseline in the final two sets, closing out the match in full control.
"I always enjoyed this moment because what emotions I felt last year, it was the first time that I felt in this way, in a very happy way," Sinner said. "Coming back here and opening and play on Centre Court, this year was a year where nobody practised on it before, so it was brand new. Mentally, you know it. It has been an amazing, amazing day for me to feel this way at least once in my life. I think I handled the situation still quite well. It was very nervy, but very happy that I found a way."
Looking ahead
The win sets up a second-round clash for the defending champion, who opted not to play any grass-court tune-up events. His service improvements and regained confidence bode well on the surface, as he seeks to defend his title.
