LONDON: Jannik Sinner survived a major scare and a bloodied foot to open his Wimbledon title defence with a five-set victory over Miomir Kecmanovic, while Aryna Sabalenka made a blistering start to her bid for a maiden All England Club crown.

Sinner was pushed to the brink of becoming only the third male defending champion to lose in the Wimbledon first round before battling back to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6/8), 6-2, 6-3 on Monday.

Trailing by two sets to one, the Italian world number one dug deep to win his first five-set match in his last six attempts.

Sinner’s gutsy victory in three hours and 28 minutes was all the more commendable after he injured his right foot in an awkward fall that left his shoe covered in blood.

He let out a shriek of pain and was motionless for several moments before gingerly resuming play.

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.

Ahead of 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 number one 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 number 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. 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.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2026