“Things can go wrong very quickly”: Jannik Sinner and the fine line a title defence walks
Jannik Sinner survived two alarming falls and a bloodied foot to come from two sets to one down and beat Miomir Kecmanović in five, launching his Wimbledon title defence a month after his Roland-Garros heat collapse.
Jannik Sinner, Wimbledon 2026 | © C. Caillaud / PsNewz
Jannik Sinner began the defence of his Wimbledon title with a five-set survival act on Monday, recovering from two sets to one down and two alarming falls, one of which left his foot bloodied, to beat Miomir Kecmanović 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 on Centre Court.
It was the world No. 1’s first official match on grass since he won the title last year, and his first of any kind since his shock heat-induced collapse at Roland-Garros a month ago. The rust showed early – he sprayed 52 unforced errors against just 31 aces and dropped the opening set – before the third set turned the afternoon tense.
Sinner : “Grass court is like this”
Both falls came there: the first when his leg buckled behind the baseline as he changed direction, the second as Kecmanović dragged him corner to corner in the tie-break and forced him to dive to the turf, a point that brought the crowd to its feet. “One fall was a tough one, because you can get injured,” Sinner said. “Grass court is like this, especially the first matches. I got lucky there, because things can go wrong very quickly.
The key, he said, was refusing to let the slips inhibit him. “I tried to still trust my movement,” he said. “If you’re very scared, then everything goes too slow, and on this surface you can’t.”
Asked whether his childhood as a competitive skier helped him fall safely, he was unconvinced. “When you fall without any control, skiing can’t help,” he said, noting his team had done extensive injury-prevention work before the tournament precisely because such moments were likely.
Blood red shoe
The bloodied foot, he insisted, was nothing serious. He had earlier described the issue as a nail, joking that he was surprised officials let him continue once his all-white kit began turning red, and was at pains not to overstate it.
The drama carried an added charge on a brutal day for the tournament. Sinner learned only minutes before facing the media that his friend Jack Draper had withdrawn with an arm injury, the British No. 1 joining Emma Raducanu and the absent Carlos Alcaraz on the casualty list. “When he is at his best, he’s one of the best players in the world,” Sinner said of Draper. “You don’t wish anyone hard luck like he has had. It’s tough for the UK.”
Sinner admitted the conditions had caught him out at first. “The ball is slightly slower on Centre Court than the courts we practised on,” he said. “In the beginning I struggled a bit with the forehand, but I knew it before the match. I need a couple of matches.” He paid tribute, too, to Kecmanović’s flat, penetrating ball, which he said cut through the grass and repeatedly pushed him back.
It’s a huge privilege – it’s tough to describe
The Italian poke warmly of the occasion, opening proceedings as defending champion. “It’s a huge privilege – it’s tough to describe,” he said. “This was the year nobody practised on it before, so it was brand new. It has been an amazing day.”
Cooler London conditions, a relief after temperatures above 35C in the build-up, were a welcome contrast to the Paris heat that undid him. Sinner, who avoided becoming only the third defending men’s champion to fall in the first round, next plays Portugal’s Nuno Borges on Wednesday.
