Too many errors for Jannik Sinner; Kecmanović takes the first set

Jannik Sinner made too many errors during his first-round match at Wimbledon against Miomir Kecmanović: the South Tyrolean made a lot of mistakes, and his opponent took advantage of them. Sinner can be satisfied only with his serve, which produced six aces to none.

The start of the match was all about the serves: after an easy first game for Sinner and Kecmanovic tying the score, the Italian came back from a 0-40 deficit in the third game thanks to two aces and took a 2-1 lead. The set remained evenly matched until 3-3, at which point the Serbian held his service game to love. Sinner responds in kind, taking a 4-3 lead with two consecutive aces, but at 4-4 the momentum shifts against the world No. 1: leading 40-15, the Italian commits too many unforced errors and two consecutive double faults, handing Kecmanovic the decisive break.

Called upon to serve for the set at 5-4, the Serbian didn’t falter and attacked the game with authority, aided by Sinner’s numerous errors from the baseline. With a quick, one-love game, Kecmanovic takes the first set 6-4, capitalizing fully on Sinner’s lapses, who, up to that point, had managed to stay in the match only thanks to an excellent serving performance (six aces in total).

Wimbledon upholds a tradition reserved for a select few. In the Open Era, only nine champions have managed to defend their titles by winning two consecutive editions of the Championships: from Rod Laver to Carlos Alcaraz, including legends such as Björn Borg, John McEnroe, Boris Becker, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic.

Now, in the prestigious “Garden of Kings,” there is a spot that could be filled by a new star. Jannik Sinner arrives in London as the defending champion and with the opportunity to join an exclusive club: by winning this year’s tournament as well, he would become the tenth player in the Open Era to achieve back-to-back titles on the world’s most famous grass courts.

This feat would be historic, given that over the past twenty years only Federer, Djokovic, and Alcaraz have managed to defend their titles at Wimbledon—a testament to how difficult it is to dominate the tournament for multiple consecutive seasons. Sinner, however, arrives at the tournament bolstered by his status as world No. 1, his growing technical and mental maturity, and a game that has proven increasingly effective on grass.