World No. 1 Jannik Sinner endured a challenging five-set match and a visible foot injury to advance to the second round of Wimbledon on Monday. The defending champion was pushed to the brink by his compatriot Miomir Kecmanovic, the World No. 50, before ultimately securing a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 5-3 victory.
Sinner's right shoe showed significant blood stains, indicating a wound sustained during the match. Despite the injury, he expressed surprise that officials allowed him to continue playing, citing the tournament's strict all-white uniform policy. "I am good, (the blood) seems much worse than it is," Sinner stated after the match. "I am surprised they let me keep playing because of the all-white (uniform guidelines). It was a good match from both of us so I didn’t want to disturb and take any time (with a medical time-out)."
The five-set encounter, lasting three hours and 29 minutes, marked Sinner's first competitive grass-court match of the season and followed his unexpected exit from the French Open last month. Kecmanovic had led by two sets to one and appeared poised to cause a major upset on Centre Court.
"It is a huge honour to start the tournament. I was a little flat at the beginning, I did not play my best, it was my first official match on grass (this summer)," Sinner said. "I am very happy, it is a big honour to play in front of you. Coming back here as defending champion means a lot to me. I am very happy to win the first one, I will plan for a couple of improvements for the next match but I am happy."
Novak Djokovic, seeded second behind Sinner, was scheduled to play his first-round match later on Monday evening.