Sinner Defeats Kecmanovic in Five Sets at Wimbledon Opener

Jannik Sinner defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-3 in the first round at Wimbledon on June 29, ESPN reported. The defending champion dropped the opening set and a tiebreaker before prevailing in five sets on the grass courts in England.

Sinner entered the tournament after a second-round exit at the 2026 French Open, where he lost to Juan Manuel Cerundolo in five sets after leading in the third.

He had won all five Masters 1000 events on all surfaces earlier in the year. Sinner said he experienced dizziness, fatigue and weakness during the French Open loss due to heat. Sinner skipped grass-court lead-in tournaments and arrived in London early to practice on the surface.

He told reporters on June 27 at the All England Club that he was happy with his preparation after 2½ weeks of work. The temperature at the start of the match was 73 degrees Fahrenheit. Sinner committed 15 unforced errors in the first set and two consecutive double faults that led to a break in the ninth game.

Kecmanovic won every point in the final game to close out the set. IBM watsonx had given Sinner a 76 percent chance of victory before the match, and Sinner held a 4-0 head-to-head lead entering the contest. Sinner practiced with Novak Djokovic the previous week in a session recorded for the BBC.

He told the crowd after the match that it was his first grass-court match of the season and that he was pleased to turn the result around.