Sinner sizzles in Wimbledon opener
AFP | London
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Top seed Jannik Sinner eased into the Wimbledon second round yesterday, brushing aside fellow Italian Luca Nardi in straight sets. Unfazed by the searing heat, Sinner barely broke sweat in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory lasting just one hour and 48 minutes on Court One.
“I’m very happy to come back here to such a special place for me,” Sinner said.
“Playing an Italian is very unfortunate but one has to go through and luckily it was me.”
Sinner last week insisted his surprise decision to part with two of his coaching staff on the eve of Wimbledon would not affect his bid to win the tournament for the first time.
He opted to move on from Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist, as he looks for a new direction following his painful French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.
The pair had been employed by Sinner since September 2024, helping him retain the Australian Open crown in January and reach the Roland Garros showpiece in June.
Asked if the decision might jeopardise his Wimbledon challenge over the next fortnight, Sinner was adamant it would be beneficial, with coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill still on his staff.
On the evidence of his dominant display against Nardi the world number one, who returned from a three-month doping ban in May, will be just fine regardless of the coaching shake-up.
“We worked a lot after Halle ( grass-court tournament) on the serve and in important moments I felt I was serving very well,” Sinner said.
“ First matches are never easy, so I’m very happy with the performance. It’s a new tournament, new challenges.
“If you don’t enjoy to play on these courts, I don’t know where you will enjoy. I will try to keep going.”
Sinner has won three of the past six Grand Slams, but the 23-year-old blew a two-set lead and wasted three match points as Alcaraz staged a comeback for the ages to win the French Open final.
Sinner has failed to reach the Wimbledon final in his four visits, with a last-four appearance in 2023 ranking as his best effort.
The Italian’s Wimbledon preparations were also dented by a shock last-16 defeat against Alexander Bublik at Halle.
Playing world number 95 Nardi for the first time, Sinner had little trouble dispatching the 21-year-old in his first Grand Slam match since that bitter defeat at Roland Garros.
Sinner recently released a duet titled Polvere e Gloria, which means Dust and Glory, with renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli. The Italian will hope he continues hitting all the right notes in his Wimbledon title.
Third seed Pegula suffers shock exit
American third seed Jessica Pegula admitted her shock straight-sets defeat against Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto in the Wimbledon first round was her “worst result of the year”.
Pegula was demolished 6-2, 6-3 by the world number 116 in just 58 minutes on Court Two yesterday.
It was a bitter blow for the 2024 US Open finalist, who has never been past the quarter-finals at the All England Club.
The 31-year-old played with heavy strapping on her right knee and never looked comfortable in a lacklustre performance.
“She played incredible tennis. Do I think I played the best match ever? No. But I wasn’t that bad. It was just her day today,” Pegula said.
“I think I could have served better but I was having trouble with the conditions. It was very humid and the court was slow.
“I tried my best to match her level and I thought I would close the gap in the second set. But she didn’t drop her level at all. She was forcing a lot of my errors.”
Since losing last year’s US Open final against Aryna Sabalenka, world number three Pegula has been eliminated before the quarter-finals in all three of her Grand Slam appearances.
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