Jannik Sinner, the champion’s roar: It’s off to a fifth set against Kecmanovic
Jannik Sinner won the fourth set with great composure, tying the match at 2-2 against Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of Wimbledon. The South Tyrolean, who had lost the third set in a tiebreak after, among other things, giving his fans a scare with a nasty fall, left the Serbian no chance, winning four consecutive games at 2-2 and thus taking the match to a decisive set.
In the first set, Sinner struggled with too many lapses and noticeable errors from the baseline, managing to stay in the match almost exclusively thanks to an excellent serving performance (with six aces). The initial balance was broken at 4-4 when the Italian, leading 40-15 on his own serve, suddenly made things difficult for himself with a series of unforced errors and two consecutive double faults, handing Kecmanovic the decisive break. The Serbian, ice-cold, capitalized on it immediately afterward to close out the set 6-4 with a dominant love game.
After an unusual number of errors in the first set, the world No. 1 bounced back immediately, closing out the second set 6-3. Sinner easily held his first service game and, immediately afterward, broke Kecmanovic’s serve thanks to an excellent down-the-line forehand. The Italian consolidated his lead to 3-0 by relying on his serve, only to concede the first game of the set to the Serb after a string of too many unforced errors from the baseline. The world No. 1 remained unfazed and surged to a 4-1 lead with a love game capped off by his tenth ace of the match, while Kecmanovic saved himself in the next game thanks to a surgically precise drop shot. After a burst of pride from the Serbian, who narrowed the gap to 5-3, Sinner went to serve for the set: despite his fourth double fault of the match, the Italian kept his cool and closed out the set 6-3 with his eleventh ace of the day, tying the match at one set apiece.
Serves dominated the start of the third set, but then came a moment of great fear in the fifth game: the Italian, in an attempt to retrieve a ball, slipped on the grass, twisting his left knee and hitting his hip. The nasty fall startled the crowd, but the South Tyrolean didn’t seem to be affected by it and continued playing as usual, without requesting medical attention. In the seventh game, Kecmanovic saved three break points, while Sinner held his service games more solidly, even though he continued to commit several unforced errors. The set was ultimately decided in a tiebreak: after leading 3-0, the world No. 1 saw his lead erased to 5-5, then lost 8-6, dropping the set.
