The Italian Jannik Sinner is, as expected, through to the second round in Wimbledon – but it was not entirely without problems.
The world number one is joined by another group of stars who won their opening matches on Monday, including Norwegian Casper Ruud and Spanish Carlos Alcaraz.
The 22-year-old world number one Jannik Sinner faced German Yannick Hanfmann, ranked 110, in his opening match in Wimbledon. It was a match Sinner was only supposed to win – but the German caused unexpectedly much trouble in the third set, which he impressively managed to win.
In the end, it was an Italian victory with 3–1 in sets (6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 6–3).
Norwegian Casper Ruud faced 234th-ranked Australian Alex Bolt in his Wimbledon premiere. Eighth-ranked Ruud took an expected victory in three straight sets (7–6, 6–4, 6–4).
"The courts are perfect"
It feels good, it's nice to stand there as the winner of the match. It's fantastic to be back at Wimbledon, all the wins I can get here are good for my confidence and career, says Ruud in Eurosport after the match.
It was the Norwegian's first competitive match on grass for the year.
These courts are so perfect, it feels bad to come here and ruin them when we get here. I tried not to ruin too much, he says.
Victory for Spanish superstar
Even for Carlos Alcaraz, it was a direct victory. The Spanish superstar won with 3–0 in sets against 269th-ranked Mark Lajal. The Estonian impressed many and took the first set to a tiebreak. But in the end, he was not particularly close to Alcaraz, who won with the scores 7–6 (7–3), 7–5, 6–2.
Fifth-ranked Daniil Medvedev is also through, after a victory with 3–0 in sets against 88th-ranked American Aleksandar Kovacevic. The scores were written as 6–3, 6–4, 6–2.
In Swedish terms, Elias Ymer is qualified, but there will be no play on Monday.
