World No. 1 Sinner Survives Five-Set Thriller in Wimbledon First Round

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy narrowly escaped an upset in his opening match at the 2026 Wimbledon Championships, which features a total prize pool of 64.2 million pounds.
Sinner defeated Miomir Kecmanovic, ranked 50th, 3-2 in the first round of the men's singles held on the opening day of the tournament at the All England Club in London, U.K., on June 29 (local time).
As the defending champion who claimed his first-ever Wimbledon title last year by defeating Carlos Alcaraz (No. 2, Spain) in the final, Sinner is aiming for back-to-back titles this year.
With Alcaraz absent from Wimbledon due to a wrist injury—following his withdrawal from the French Open—Sinner is considered the strongest favorite to win the tournament.
However, there were concerns regarding Sinner's match fitness, as he had not competed in any official matches since his second-round exit at the French Open last month.
As feared, Sinner's start to the match was not smooth.
He found himself on the brink of defeat after losing the third-set tiebreak to fall behind in the set score, and he even suffered a scare after slipping on the grass court, appearing to be in pain for a moment.
After taking the fourth set 6-2, he managed to secure a hard-fought victory by breaking his opponent's serve once in the final fifth set to advance to the second round.
"It was my first grass-court match of the season, so my body felt a bit stiff early on," Sinner said after the match. "Stepping onto Center Court as the defending champion felt completely different from usual. I was quite nervous."
He added, "It wasn't easy to accept the third set, but I am happy to have turned the match around. I will look to improve a few things for the next match."
Sinner's opponent in the second round will be Nuno Borges (No. 48, Portugal).
Novak Djokovic (No. 8, Serbia), the 39-year-old veteran and another strong contender for the title alongside Sinner, also advanced to the second round by defeating Wu Yibing (No. 102, China) 3-1 (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4).
Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion and a dominant force on grass, has reached at least the semifinals in each of the last five years.
He is aiming for a record-extending 25th major singles title at this tournament.
"It was a really tough match today. Wu Yibing played very well and deserves applause," Djokovic said after the match. "My experience of playing on this court for over 20 years helped me overcome the crisis."
Felix Auger-Aliassime (No. 4, Canada), who reached the quarterfinals at the recent French Open, also cruised into the second round with a 3-0 victory over Alexander Shevchenko (No. 99, Kazakhstan).
Auger-Aliassime, seeking his first major title, will face Dino Prizmic (No. 89, Croatia) in the second round.
In the women's singles, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka (Belarus) defeated Teodora Kostovic (No. 184, Serbia) 2-0 to join the second round.
Sabalenka, a three-time Wimbledon semifinalist, is competing for her first Wimbledon title.
"I am very happy to be back at Wimbledon," Sabalenka said after the match. "It was quite a decent performance for a first match. I would give it an 8 out of 10. Kostovic raised her level in the second set and pushed me, but I am satisfied to have finished the match in two sets."
Sabalenka will face McCartney Kessler (No. 57, U.S.) in the second round.
This year's French Open champion, Mirra Andreeva (No. 5, Russia), also advanced to the second round by beating Magda Linette (No. 59, Poland) 2-0 (7-5, 6-4).
Andreeva's second-round opponent is the 2024 Wimbledon singles champion Barbora Krejcikova (No. 38, Czech Republic).
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.