Sinner wins quickly, Djokovic overcomes physical difficulties at Wimbledon

(Dan Tri) - In the opening match on the night of July 1, Jannik Sinner quickly defeated his compatriot Luca Nardi in 3 sets. Novak Djokovic had a tense 4-set match with Alexandre Muller when both needed medical assistance.

Jannik Sinner wasted no energy in the sweltering London heat on July 1, as the No. 1 seed eased to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 win over compatriot Luca Nardi in the first round of Wimbledon.

In stark contrast to his big rival Carlos Alcaraz, who had to endure a grueling five-set battle with Fabio Fognini on June 30, Sinner breezed past Nardi in just one hour and 48 minutes. The ATP No. 1 converted five of his 13 break-serve opportunities and did not face a single break point in a dominating display on Court No. 1, where temperatures reached 34 degrees Celsius.

Sinner showed great form in the first round of Wimbledon (Photo: Getty).

"I'm very happy to be back here. This is a special place for me. For us, it was very unfortunate to play an Italian in the first round, but we had to overcome it, so I'm very happy for myself to win. The atmosphere was great as always, thank you very much. I know it was very hot, very humid. I don't remember the last time it was like this in London," Sinner shared in an interview on the pitch.

The Wimbledon first-round match was Sinner's first return to a Grand Slam stage since missing three championship points in last month's Roland Garros final defeat to Alcaraz. The Italian looked eager when asked whether his confident start to Wimbledon was a form of "reset".

"It's a new tournament. New opportunity, new challenge. You only have one opponent at a time, so I'm happy about today. Obviously I try to keep going and try to enjoy playing here. If you don't enjoy playing on these courts, I don't know where you're going to enjoy it. I'm happy to be here and we'll see what happens," Sinner said.

Sinner dropped just 12 points on serve in his first meeting with Nardi, the world No. 95. Although he had to wait for success on return until the 10th game, when he decisively broke Nardi to win the first set, Sinner largely settled down and dropped just three more games from there.

“We worked a lot on serving after Halle,” Sinner revealed. “Today, especially in the big moments, I served really well. At first, I think we both struggled a little bit and didn't have many good serves, but then I tried to go for it. I tried to hit the ball over the net.

“I am very happy with the way I finished the match, and hopefully that will give me more confidence to start the next match. The first matches are never easy, so I am very happy with my performance and especially my serve today.”

Sinner has responded impressively to his second-round loss to Alexander Bublik in Halle two weeks ago, setting up a meeting with Aleksandar Vukic, who beat Tseng Chun-Hsin 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5) at Wimbledon. The 23-year-old has won three of his last six majors, winning all 14 ATP-level matches he has played against his fellow Italians.

Djokovic celebrates his victory in the first match at Wimbledon this year (Photo: Getty).

Novak Djokovic overcame a challenging start to Wimbledon, beating Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-2 in the first round. The Serb, who is chasing an eighth title at the prestigious tournament to equal Roger Federer's record, struggled with physical problems before proving his class.

After starting the match strongly, Djokovic missed six set points in the second set, allowing Frenchman Muller to rally. Despite being called for a doctor twice in the third set, the Serb showed great fighting spirit to finish the match after 3 hours and 20 minutes.

"I went from feeling my best in a set and a half to feeling my worst in about 45 minutes. Whether it was the stomach pain, I struggled with that, but then the energy came back after taking the medicine from the doctor and I tried to finish the match well," Djokovic shared after the match.

Djokovic receives medical attention during his first match at Wimbledon (Photo: Getty).

Djokovic's physical decline became apparent when he clutched his chest to help his breathing in the fourth game of the second set, before receiving medical advice. With the roof of Center Court closed and Muller's powerful shots, the match appeared to be swinging in the Frenchman's favor. However, Muller undone his own success with a double fault to give Djokovic a 3-2 lead, before he also had to pause for medical treatment on his right leg.

Despite the difficulties, Djokovic continued to show incredible power from the baseline, forcing Muller into errors. He broke through with early breaks in the third and fourth sets, extending his perfect 20-0 record in opening matches at Wimbledon.

With the win, Djokovic improved his head-to-head record against Muller to 2-0. The sixth seed will continue his campaign against home player Daniel Evans in the next round. He is seeded for a potential quarter-final against home player Jack Draper.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/sinner-thang-nhanh-djokovic-vuot-qua-kho-khan-the-chat-tai-wimbledon-20250702075454980.htm