Jannik Sinner overcame a mid-match wobble to beat German Yannick Hanfmann in his Wimbledon debut on Monday, but said he would have to improve his game. The Italian world number won 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in just under three hours on Court No. 1 to set up a match against 2021 Wimbledon finalist and compatriot Matteo Berrettini. “He played very well, served well, I missed a few shots,” said Sinner. “The first phase games are never easy and in the next one I have to raise my level.
“I have a day off and then I need to get my groove on.”
Sinner looked on course for a straight victory against his 110th-ranked opponent after winning the first two sets.
But Hanfmann took a 4-0 lead in the third set, sealing it 6-3 before the court’s roof closed.
Sinner, who won her first Grand Slam at the Australian Open earlier this year, regrouped, beating her opponent to break the fourth game of the fourth set.
The 22-year-old, a semi-finalist at Wimbledon last year, hit a backhand past his opponent on his second match point to claim victory.
He hit a total of 47 winners against 30 unforced errors.
Sinner was asked during his on-court interview what it was like to play the tournament as the newly minted world number one.
“Firstly, it is a huge privilege and an honor to be in this position, and there is no better place to play as the number one in the world,” he said.
“It’s an incredible feeling, but every game starts 0-0 and every opponent wants to win, just like me. Every game is at a very high level, which is what you all want to see.”
‘Heartbroken’
Sabalenka, a two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist ranked third in the world, is one of eight players who have withdrawn since the draw.
She admitted she was not 100 percent fit after suffering a shoulder injury at the Berlin Open.
“Heartbroken to have to tell everyone I won’t be able to play in the league this year,” Sabalenka, 26, wrote on X.
China’s world number eight Zheng Qinwen, the Australian Open runner-up, was the day’s biggest casualty, losing in the first round for the second year in a row.
Zheng lost 4-6 6-2 6-4 to New Zealand qualifier Lulu Sun, who celebrated her first victory in a Grand Slam match.
Both Sabalenka and Zheng were potential semifinal opponents for US Open champion and second-seeded Coco Gauff, who defeated compatriot Caroline Dolehide 6-1, 6-2.
Former world number one Naomi Osaka claimed her first Wimbledon victory since 2018 when she recovered from a final-set meltdown to defeat Diane Parry of France 6-1, 1-6, 6-4.
Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam title winner, made it 34 in the draw, which was decided when Parry committed her tenth double fault.
The victory was even more special for Osaka as it comes the day before her daughter Shai celebrates her first birthday.
“It feels like a dream because I haven’t played here many times,” said Osaka, whose last appearance at the All England Club was in 2019, when they were eliminated in the first round.
Russian men’s fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, a semi-finalist last year, hit 16 aces in a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Topics mentioned in this article
Aryna Sabalenka
Wimbledon 2024
tennis
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