Jannik Sinner's Wimbledon quest is up and running after the world No 1 powered past Luca Nardi in straight sets on another scorching day at the All England Club.
Having lost in dramatic fashion to Carlos Alcaraz in the French Open final last month, the Italian returned to Grand Slam action against his countryman on Court 1 which saw temperatures reaching as high as 34º Celsius.
And three-time major winner Sinner made short work of Nardi, beating the 21-year-old 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 to reach the second round of the only Grand Slam he has yet to reach the final of.
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.
The 23-year-old opted to move on from Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist, as he looks for a new direction following the painful defeat to Alcaraz.
“I’m very happy to come back here. It’s such a special place for me,” said Sinner in his on-court interview after beating Nardi in one hour and 48 minutes.
“Playing against an Italian is for us very unfortunate, but one has to go through, so I’m happy that it is me.
“I know it’s very hot, very humid. I don’t remember the last time it was this weather in London.”
Another Italian, seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti, failed to make it through after a surprise defeat against Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Last year's semi-finalist was beaten 6-2, 4-6, 7-5, 6-1 on a muggy Court 2 by 126th-ranked Basilashvili, who earned his first win in a Grand Slam since reaching the third round at Wimbledon in 2022.
It was also the 33-year-old's first victory over a top-10 player at a Grand Slam.
Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur wrapped his first-round match in quick fashion with a 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 victory over Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena.
American Tommy Paul, seeded 13, is also safely through after sweeping past home hope Johannus Monday 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
In the women's draw, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova recovered from an early scare to beat rising Filipino star Alexandra Eala in three sets.
It looked like the Czech could become the second consecutive Wimbledon women’s champion to lose in the first round when she went behind against the 20-year-old.
Last year saw Krejcikova's compatriot and 2023 title winner Marketa Vondrousova become the second women's defending champion in the open era – after Steffi Graf in 1994 – to fall at the first hurdle.
But Krejcikova, who had to withdraw from the grass-court Eastbourne Open last week due to a thigh injury after previously struggling with a debilitating back problem, hit back in style and sealed a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory on Centre Court.
“I was in a lot of pain in my back and I didn't really know how my career was going to go,” said the 29-year-old. “I'm super happy and super excited that I can be here and that I can play on such a great court.”
World No 3 Jessica Pegula became the highest-ranked player to fall in this year's tournament so far when the American was dispatched in straight sets by Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
The Italian, ranked 116 in the world, ran out a convincing 6-2, 6-3 winner securing only her second victory against a top-10 player, bringing last year's US Open runner-up Pegula's Wimbledon dream to a swift end.
Pegula, who lost in the first round of a Grand Slam for the first time since the 2020 French Open, hailed Cocciaretto's performance on Court 2 as “insane”.
“She played absolutely incredible tennis,” said the 31-year-old. “Hats off to her. Kudos to her for playing at a high level that I couldn't match today.”
Cocciaretto – who never been beyond Round 4 in a Slam – was able to avenge her straight-sets loss to Pegula at Wimbledon two years ago.
Fifth seed Qinwen Zheng is also out after the Olympic champion from China was beaten 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 by the Czech Republic's Katerina Siniakova.
There were no such problems for Polish eighth seed and five-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek who brushed aside Polina Kudermetova of Russia 7-5, 6-1.
Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva's 6-3, 6-3 win over Egypt's Mayar Sharif means there will be no Arab players in the second round at SW19, following Ons Jabeur's tearful exit on Monday.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
All%20We%20Imagine%20as%20Light
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPayal%20Kapadia%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kani%20Kusruti%2C%20Divya%20Prabha%2C%20Chhaya%20Kadam%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
England-South Africa Test series
1st Test England win by 211 runs at Lord's, London
2nd Test South Africa win by 340 runs at Trent Bridge, Nottingham
3rd Test July 27-31 at The Oval, London
4th Test August 4-8 at Old Trafford, Manchester
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
