Sinner and Sabalenka advance as Wimbledon seeds fall on opening day
Jannik Sinner survived Miomir Kecmanovic in five sets, while Aryna Sabalenka won in straight sets as several seeds and British players exited.
By Lucas Ferreira · Science & Environment Writer
3 min read
Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka opened Wimbledon with wins Monday, Reuters reported, steadying their bids after difficult French Open exits. Their victories framed a first day that also brought seeded losses, British withdrawals and a sweep of defeats for home players.
Sinner, the defending men’s champion from Italy and the world No. 1, beat Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3, according to Reuters. The match was Sinner’s first since a second-round loss at the French Open, where Reuters said his physical struggles in hot conditions had raised questions about his endurance.
Reuters reported that Sinner had a chance to take a two-sets-to-one lead but lost the third-set tiebreak before controlling the final two sets. The match lasted three hours and 30 minutes, his third-longest at Wimbledon, and gave him a 94th Grand Slam match win, level with Nicola Pietrangeli’s Italian record.
Sinner fell during the match and injured a nail, leaving blood visible on his white shoe, Reuters reported. He said afterward the injury was not serious.
“It was a little tight in the beginning; I didn’t play at my best, but I tried to get into it,” Sinner said, according to Reuters. “I’m happy I turned it around because the third set was very tough to swallow.” He added: “I’m actually surprised that they let me keep playing, because my all-white outfit turned into a little red.”
Sabalenka, the women’s top seed from Belarus, followed Sinner on Centre Court and beat Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3, Reuters reported. Sabalenka had arrived after losing the final 10 games of her French Open quarterfinal against Diana Shnaider, a defeat Reuters said left her in a low mental state.
Seeds and home players exit
Several seeded players left early, according to Reuters. Norway’s Casper Ruud, seeded 11th, lost 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(7) to Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, and 12th seed Andrey Rublev fell to fellow Russian Roman Safiullin in five sets after missing two match points and losing the deciding tiebreak 14-12.
Reuters reported that Maja Chwalinska, the surprise French Open runner-up, lost 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 to Thai qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew after falling and hurting herself while holding match point. Among women’s seeds to advance, Naomi Osaka, seeded 14th, defeated Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 7-5; fourth seed Jessica Pegula beat Darja Vidmanova 7-5, 6-3; and French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, seeded fifth, defeated Magda Linette 7-5, 6-4.
Reuters reported that Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic beat British wildcard Mika Stojsavljevic on a difficult day for British players. Emma Raducanu withdrew with an injury before the tournament, and Jack Draper withdrew Monday with an arm injury.
Ten British players lost Monday, Reuters reported, including 26th seed Cameron Norrie, the British men’s No. 1, who was beaten in five sets by American qualifier Michael Zheng. Harriet Dart also lost after being placed in the Court One slot that had been due to feature Raducanu, falling to Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko.
Medvedev and younger names move on
In other men’s results, Reuters reported that eighth seed Daniil Medvedev beat Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 in a meeting of former US Open champions. Brazil’s Joao Fonseca defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-3, and Spain’s 19-year-old Rafael Jodar won his Wimbledon debut against British wildcard Felix Gill 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.