LONDON: World number one Jannik Sinner survived an early scare in his Wimbledon title defence but the Italian shook off the rust and fought past Serb Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6 6-3 6-7(6) 6-2 6-3 on Monday to reach the second round.
Victory in Sinner’s first competitive grass court match of the season following his premature French Open exit last month was his 94th win at the Grand Slams, drawing him level with Nicola Pietrangeli for the most by an Italian.
It was far from comfortable as Sinner lost the opening set to spark concerns among fans recalling his second-round shock at Roland Garros, but normal service soon resumed in the second set which the 24-year-old secured with a fiery ace.
But more tense moments followed as Sinner grimaced after a fall in the next set and later appeared to have bloodstains on his shoe for a separate issue, and though he soldiered on, he crumbled in a tiebreak that looked his for the taking.
The four-time Grand Slam champion roared back to life and cruised through the fourth set to force a decider, where he took full control and prevailed to book a second-round meeting with Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
Aryna Sabalenka cruised through her opening match, seeing off Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic in straight sets on Centre Court.
The world number one, who could be challenged for the top ranking by Elena Rybakina over the coming fortnight, wrapped up a 6-2, 6-3 win after 65 minutes.
Qualifier Mananchaya Sawangkaew produced the first major upset of Wimbledon 2026, fighting back from the brink of defeat to knock out 20th seed Maja Chwalinska 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 after the Polish star suffered a cruel injury while serving for the match.
The 23-year-old Thai player saved one match point and then completed a stunning comeback in two hours and 41 minutes. This victory marked her first win in a Grand Slam main draw and her first against a Top 30 opponent.
Ranked No. 164 in the world, Sawangkaew had already displayed her fighting spirit in qualifying. She saved three match points to defeat Oceane Dodin 5-7, 7-5, 6-1 and reach the main draw.
Fourth seed Jessica Pegula put behind her last year's first-round exit with a composed straight-sets victory over Czech qualifier Darja Vidmanova to reach the Ladies' Singles second round, while teenage compatriot Iva Jovic celebrated her first-ever main-draw win at the All England Club.
Pegula, one of the seventh-seeded American women in this year's tournament, overcame a brief dip in the first set to defeat world No. 92 Vidmanova 7-5, 6-3 in one hour and 13 minutes.
Next, she will face Spain's Sara Sorribes Tormo, who beat Victoria Jimenez Kasintseva 6-2, 6-3 to match her best Wimbledon performance by reaching the second round for the fifth time in seven appearances. Sorribes Tormo leads their head-to-head 2-1, with both wins coming in 2018 and 2019, while Pegula won their last encounter in 2022. Their match at Wimbledon will be their first on grass.
In another match, 18-year-old 16th seed Iva Jovic continued her rapid rise with her first Wimbledon main-draw victory, defeating world No. 37 Jaqueline Cristian 7-6(1), 6-0.
Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar made a confident start to his campaign, defeating British wildcard Felix Gill 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.
In other matches, 3rd seed Felix Auger Aliassime beat Alexander Shevchenko 6-3 6-1 6-4, 8th seed Daniil Medvedev beat Marin Cilic 6-1 6-2 6-4, Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-4 6-4 7-6, Fábián Marozsán beat Thiago Agustín Tirante 7-5 6-3 6-4, Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Hugo Gaston 6-1 6-4 6-2, Jan-Lennard Struff beat Sebastian Baez 6-1 7-6 4-6 2-6 7-5, Nuno Borges beat Tristan Boyer 6-3 7-5 7-5, Hubert Hurkacz beat 11th seed Casper Ruud 6-4 6-2 7-6, Learner Tien beat Dalibor Svrcina 6-1 6-4 6-7 6-3.
In women’s section, 10th seed Karolína Muchová beat Anastasia Zakharova 6-3 6-2, McCartney Kessler beat Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-0 6-0, Anna Kalinskaya beat Magdalena Frech 7-6 6-4, Barbora Krejcíková beat Hannah Klugman 6-1 6-4, Naomi Osaka beat Elsa Jacquemot 6-1 7-5, Zhang Shuai beat Bianca Andreescu 7-6 7-6, Belinda Bencic beat Mika Stojsavljevic 6-2 6-1, Jelena Ostapenko beat Harriet Dart 6-3 3-6 6-4, Janice Tjen beat Leylah Fernandez 6-1 7-6. Agencies
Also Read: Brazil Edge Japan in Round of 32 Thriller as Martinelli Nets Injury-Time Winner