Sinner cruises as Wimbledon seeds fall, Krejcikova survives

World number one Jannik Sinner stayed cool to reach the second round of Wimbledon while several of his fellow seeds including Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and American hope Jessica Pegula and Alexander Zverev crashed and burned on a sizzling Tuesday.

A red-hot Sinner effortlessly eased through beating fellow Italian and close friend Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0 in a victorious return to the Grand Slam stage after his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month.

Zverev became the highest men’s seed to fall in a brutal first round for top players as the German lost a five-set marathon to France’s Arthur Rinderknech.

Third seed Zverev and Rinderknech were locked at one set apiece on Monday when play was stopped, but after the resumption on a sultry Centre Court the Frenchman ground out a 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 victory.

It was Zverev’s first opening round defeat at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2019 and leaves him still searching for a first major after 38 attempts.

Rinderknech will face Chilean Lucky Loser Cristian Garin in round two. Zverev’s defeat means 12 of the 32 men’s seeds have failed to reach the second round.

Sinner’s other friend Musetti, last year’s semi-finalist, was dumped out by Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, who prevailed 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 on a muggy Court Two.

EXIT DOOR: Wimbledon dark horse Alexander Bublik, seeded 28th, was also unable to avoid the exit door, as the Kazakh showman was dragged into battle by Spaniard Jaume Munar and beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2 to continue the exodus of seeded men’s players.

Taylor Fritz let out a massive roar but it might as well have been a sigh of relief after the fifth-seeded American moved past big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(6) 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 in a match carried forward from Monday.

His American compatriot Tommy Paul took out Briton Johannus Monday with little fuss, the 13th seed cruising 6-4 6-4 6-2, but it was the end of the road for 30th seed Alex Michelsen who fell 6-2 3-6 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) to Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic.

On the women’s side, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was tested by promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala, but she found best form to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Centre Court after last year’s surprise triumph.

“I mean, what the hell (kind of tennis) she played in the first set?,” said Krejcikova, praising her opponent.

“She was smashing the ball and cleaning the lines, so wow, wow. She’s going to be really good in a couple of years.”

While Eala missed her chance to make history, Zeynep Sonmez became the first Turkish woman to reach the second round at the grasscourt Grand Slam when she battled past Romania’s Jaqueline Cristian 7-6(5) 6-3.

Third seed Pegula was unable to put up a fight as she fell 6-2 6-3 in 58 minutes to Elisabetta Cocciaretto before Olympic champion and fifth seed Qinwen Zheng was beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 by Czech Katerina Siniakova.

Five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek faced a tight opening set against Polina Kudermetova but the eighth seed won 7-5 6-1 while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva advanced after a 6-3 6-3 victory over Mayar Sherif.

Victoria Mboko found out a few hours before she faced Magdalena Frech that she had entered the main draw as a lucky loser due to Anastasia Potapova’s pullout and the Canadian teenager rode her luck to stun the 25th seed 6-3 6-2. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London Editing by Christian Radnedge)

Petra Kvitova’s Wimbledon farewell ended in an emotional defeat as the two-time champion was beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Emma Navarro in the first round on Tuesday.

Kvitova returned from maternity leave in February following the birth of her son Petr in 2024, but found it difficult to handle the demands of being a mother on the gruelling tennis circuit.

The 35-year-old Czech announced last week that she will bring the curtain down on her career after the US Open in August.

Kvitova’s decision gave the former world number two, who has won 31 titles in her career, one last opportunity to return to the scene of her Wimbledon triumphs.

But American 10th seed Navarro ruined her hopes of a long Wimbledon goodbye with a clinical 60-minute victory on Court One.

Agencies