Reigning Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner twice fought back from a set down to battle past Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic and avoided a huge shock in the Wimbledon first round.
The world No 1 was in danger of suffering a second successive early Grand Slam exit, after his second-round loss at the French Open last month, but he recovered to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6/8), 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court.
Sinner would have been the first defending champion to lose in the Wimbledon first round since Lleyton Hewitt in 2003, but he will instead face Portugal’s Nuno Borges on Wednesday July 1, for a place in the last 32.
Meanwhile, French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska crashed to a shock Wimbledon first-round defeat against Thailand’s Mananchaya Sawangkaew after suffering an injury on match point.
Just weeks after her fairytale run as a qualifier at Roland Garros, Chwalinska was unable to recapture her clay-court magic on the grass of the All England Club.
(The Whistler)
