Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner survives major scare and bloody foot in opening round five

With two-time Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz still sidelined by a wrist injury sustained in Barcelona in April, Sinner is the clear favourite to become the 10th man in the Open era to retain the trophy.

He is bidding for his fifth Grand Slam title and his first since his maiden victory at the All England Club last year.

But the 24-year-old hasn’t reached a Grand Slam final this year and crashed out of the French Open in the second round, blowing a two-set lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo as he wilted in the stifling Paris heat.

Before Wednesday’s second-round clash with Portugal’s Nuno Borges, the Italian insisted he would not be affected by his latest fitness concern.

“I’m good. It just seems much worse than it is. I’m actually very surprised that they let me keep playing because my all white outfit turned into a little red! It is just a nail,” he said.

Women’s world No 1 Sabalenka needed only 65 minutes to rout Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic 6-2, 6-3.

Sabalenka is a four-time Grand Slam winner but the Belarusian has never reached the Wimbledon final.

In the second round, the 28-year-old meets American McCartney Kessler, who crushed Ukraine’s Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-0, 6-0 in just 40 minutes.

“Super, super excited to be back. It’s a special place, to play on this beautiful court,” Sabalenka said.

French Open finalist Maja Chwalinska crashed to a shock 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 Polish 20th seed, beaten by Mirra Andreeva in the French Open final, took the first set against Sawangkaew, but crumbled over the final two sets as the world No 164 clinched a memorable 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 victory.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka made a spectacular entrance as she arrived on court in a kimono-inspired dress.

Osaka has become known for wearing flamboyant outfits before starting her matches and the four-time Grand Slam champion’s Wimbledon costume was eagerly-awaited.

With fans and photographers crowded around Court Three prior to her straight sets first-round win against France’s Elsa Jacquemot, Osaka didn’t disappoint.

To match the All England Club’s strict all-white dress code, the 28-year-old wore a kimono-style ceremonial dress decorated with embroidered cranes and cherry blossom.

Djokovic, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, opens against Chinese world No 102 Wu Yibing as he targets another slice of tennis history.

The 39-year-old Serb is chasing an all-time record of 25 Grand Slam singles titles among men and women.

Djokovic would become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam in the Open era if he lifts the trophy on July 12.

Elsewhere on opening day, Norwegian 11th seed Casper Ruud – a three-time Grand Slam finalist – slumped to a 6-4, 6-2, 7-6 (9/7) defeat against Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz.

Russia’s Andrey Rublev, seeded 12th, was eliminated by compatriot Roman Safiullin in a five-set thriller that went to a last-set tie-break.

American fourth seed Jessica Pegula enjoyed a 7-5, 6-3 victory over Darja Vidmanova.

- AFP

Click here to read article