Sinner and Sabalenka answer doubters on Wimbledon Day One | Tennis

Men’s defending champion Jannik Sinner and top women’s singles player Aryna Sabalenka both arrived at Wimbledon with questions hanging over them but answered the doubters with contrasting opening wins.

The Italian sinner – playing his first game since his debut fall in fear and a second French Open defeat on a hot day in Paris – he was stretched to the limit by Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic but survived, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-3 on Monday.

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Sabalenka, who left Paris in “a deep, dark place” after losing the last 10 games of her quarterfinal against Diana Shnaider, she followed Sinner to Center Court and outlasted Serbian Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3.

While the first Sinner in the world, the most loved in ⁠absence of Spain’s Carlos Alcarazthey stayed to fight another day, there were some wounded people first.

Norwegian No. 11 Casper Ruud made a strong impression as Pole Hubert Hurkacz lost 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (7), while No. 12 Andrey Rublev was on the verge of a five-set battle against fellow Russian Roman Safiullin, losing 1-2 sets after missing one set.

There was also heartbreak for the French Open’s surprise runner Maja Chwalinska where he lost 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 to Thai player Mananchaya Sawangkaew on Monday after Pole fell and injured himself during the match.

A number of women’s seeds passed a day much cooler than the heat that hit London last week.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka also looked stunning, striding onto the court in a Kill Bill-inspired white kimono and glittering tennis shoes as the 14th seed beat Elsa Jacquemot 6-1, 7-5.

American fourth seed Jessica Pegula beat Darja Vidmanova 7-5, 6-3, while new French Open champion Mirra Andreeva, seeded fifth, beat Magda Linette 7-5, 6-4.

Swiss 11th seed Belinda Bencic had more than enough experience for Mika Stojsavljevic, whose defeat was one of many on a miserable day for the home team.

Domestic expectations disappear

It was a sad day for their nation, which failed to celebrate even one victory.

Twenty-one players, including 12 wildcards, were in the first match, but after Emma Raducanu left with an injury on the evening of the tournament, she was followed on Monday by Jack Draper, who announced that he was also out with an arm injury.

Ten British players lost, including British number one Cameron Norrie, 26, who was beaten in five sets by inspired American Michael Zheng.

The sinner’s melting in the furnace of Roland Garros against Juan Manuel Cerundolo raised questions about his durability in long matches, but he answered, even in cold conditions, against Kecmanovic.

The sinner won his 94th Grand Slam, equaling Italian Nicola Pietrangeli’s record, but he shed a lot of sweat and a little blood to reach the mark, his white shoe stained red after he injured a nail in the fall.

“It was a little tight at the beginning, I didn’t play as well as I could, but I tried to get into it,” he said. “I’m glad I turned it around because the third set was really hard to swallow.”

Sinner had a point to go two sets ahead but failed, and Kecmanovic jumped out. Sinner was in danger of becoming the third defending Wimbledon men’s champion to lose in the first round, but dominated from then on and later said that his foot injury was not serious despite the impact it took in his third longest match at Wimbledon at three hours and 30 minutes.

“I’m surprised they allowed me to continue playing, because my very white dress turned a little red,” he added.

Success for a new generation

Fans on Court One hoping to see Raducanu in action were disappointed as the match saw Harriet Dart beaten by Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko.

Next up was a match between two other former US Open champions, Daniil Medvedev and Marin Cilic, but that fell to the ground as Cilic looked his full 37 years as the eighth-seeded Medvedev won 6-1, 6-2, 6-4.

Two of the new generation of men lit up the opening day.

Brazil’s Joao Fonseca, cheered on by a large crowd of fans wearing yellow football shirts, beat Spain’s veteran Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-3, before going on to watch. Brazil defeated Japan to reach the last 16 at the World Cup.

Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar, 19, had his best performance, beating Britain’s Felix Gill 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.