
Jannik Sinner makes light work of fellow Italian Luca Nardi in Wimbledon opener
Sinner slammed down nine aces among 28 winners and lost only 12 points behind his own serve.
The three-time grand slam winner has only reached the semi-finals here once, in 2023, but all roads seem to be leading to a showdown with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz a week on Sunday in a repeat of their epic five-set French Open final, won by the Spaniard, last month.
While Alcaraz toiled to a five-set, four-and-a-half hour win over 38-year-old Fabio Fognini on Monday, Sinner was not hanging around as he raced into round two, where he will meet Australian Aleksandar Vukic.
'New tournament, new chances, new challenges,' he said. 'You have one opponent at a time so obviously I try to keep going and enjoy playing here.
Jannik Sinner dispatched Luca Nardi inside two hours (Adam Davy/PA)
'If you don't enjoy to play on these courts, I don't know where you will enjoy. I'm very happy to be here and let's see what's coming.'
Another Italian, seventh seed Lorenzo Musetti, was knocked out by Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia.
A 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 defeat was not a major surprise, however, as Musetti has been recovering from a thigh injury since Roland Garros and was forced to withdraw from Queen's last month.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Herald Scotland
16 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Bond backing Maranoa Charlie to go the distance at Deauville
Now with son Charlie now at the helm, the Bond Thoroughbreds operation has a growing broodmare band at Yapham Mill Stud near Pocklington and have added a touch of quality to the ranks by swooping for Christopher Head's crack French-trained three-year-old Maranoa Charlie, who is blessed with both a glowing pedigree and impressive on-track CV. Monsieur Bond is one of the most famous names to represent the Yorkshire-based team (John Giles/PA) 'The reason we bought him was his form, but to have a colt with the speed in the pedigree from Tiggy Wiggy and by Wootton Bassett was so exciting to add to the ranks with what Bond Thoroughbreds is trying to achieve in racing,' said Charlie Bond. 'Wootton Bassett is flying at the minute and he looks to have great stallion potential for a long way down the line. We have a big broodmare band now, so we do need to be looking towards the future as well. 'We saw his last win and the time of the race compared to the other racing that day and he won a bit cosily carrying a penalty. The previous owners were fantastic to deal with and will be joining us on Sunday at Deauville.' Maranoa Charlie was subject to plenty of hype as a two-year-old when effortlessly winning his first three starts before seeing his momentum checked when upped to Group One level at Saint-Cloud in the final outing of his juvenile campaign. Maranoa Charlie leads them all the way in the Prix Paul de Moussac! 🇫🇷 The high-class Lazzat took the Group Three contest last year, what next for @CHeadRacing's talented colt? — At The Races (@AtTheRaces) June 8, 2025 However, he has left that minor blip in the past since returning this season, winning two Group Three contests to tee-up a return to the highest level at Deauville – which in turn could lead to a raiding mission to York for the upgraded Sky Bet City of York Stakes on August 23. 'The main race for him will probably be the City of York which Christopher identified and it is our home track, which I think will really suit him,' added Bond. 'Obviously we will see how he gets on stepping back into to Group One company on Sunday, Christopher is looking forward to running him and we'll get to see what level he is at. Cosmic Year is a possible opponent of Maranoa Charlie (David Davies/PA) 'It's the best of the best in the Jean Prat and we're straight in there in a really hot race. 'But his stature, when you look at the videos we've been sent of him, has been impressive and we're really looking forward to seeing him in person. 'I'm also really looking forward to seeing him as a four-year-old. He's a great looking horse now, but the potential improvement at four looks to be there.' Maranoa Charlie is one of eight standing their ground for the Deauville feature, with Harry Charlton's Irish 2,000 Guineas runner-up Cosmic Year and Charlie Appleby's dual Group One-winning two-year-old Shadow Of Light providing further British interest.


Daily Mirror
24 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Who is the favourite to win the 2025 Wimbledon Women's Championship?
The women's competition has seen many new champions in recent years win the shield as Barbora Krejcikova starts her defence of her title after an impressive display last year Wimbledon has arrived and many will be keen to have their say on who will be the SW19 women's champion this year considering there has not been a back-to-back winner since Serena Williams in 2016. Over the past eight years, Wimbledon has seen a new women's singles champion each time, with Barbora Krejcikova taking the title in a surprising twist last year. This year, World No.1 Aryna Sabalenka steps onto the grass courts as the frontrunner, having reached the finals in the last three Grand Slams. Despite her impressive form, Sabalenka has clinched victory in only one of those three major finals. Moreover, she hasn't competed at Wimbledon since 2023, adding an element of uncertainty to her campaign. Known for her powerful serves and formidable groundstrokes, Sabalenka's game is seemingly well-suited to the fast-paced grass surface of SW19. However, grass can be unpredictable, and with many talented players ready to seize their moment, Sabalenka's path to victory is anything but guaranteed. Who is the favourite to win the 2025 Wimbledon Women's Singles Aryna Sabalenka, the World No.1, heads into Wimbledon 2025 as the favourite for the women's singles crown, with the best odds of 9/4 from William Hill and Unibet. The Belarusian powerhouse has already claimed three Grand Slam titles, including victories at the 2024 Australian and US Opens, and has reached the finals in both the 2025 Australian and French Opens, amassing a remarkable 42-8 record this year. While she has yet to reach a Wimbledon final, her semi-final appearances in 2021 and 2023 underscore her capability on grass. Sabalenka's draw looks promising until the semi-finals, enhancing her chances of making a deep run given her consistent performance in major tournaments. However, she could face challenging encounters against rising stars like Iga Swiatek in the later rounds, which may test her resolve as she aims to secure her first Wimbledon title. Wimbledon Women's Singles Outright Odds Aryna Sabalenka - 9/4 Elena Rybakina - 9/2 Iga Swiatek - 13/2 Madison Keys - 12/1 Marketa Vondrousova - 12/1 Amanda Anisimova - 18/1 Jasmine Paolini - 25/1 Ekaterina Alexandrova - 33/1 Emma Navarro - 33/1 BAR - 40/1 18+ | Gamble responsibly | | Odds subject to change | Odds supplied by William Hill Wimbledon Betting Offers If you are on the lookout for the latest free bet offers, then look no further. Here, not only do we bring you numerous free bet offers, but all from the very best betting sites in the industry. Each bookie we recommend is fully licensed and regulated by the UK Gambling Commission, so you know you are always betting on a safe and trustworthy site. Check out the Mirror Betting Hubs Free Bets offers here. Gamble responsibly Reach plc is committed to promoting safer gambling. All of our content and recommended bets are advised to those aged 18 or over. Odds are subject to change too. We strongly encourage our readers to only ever bet what they can afford to lose. For more information, please call the National Gambling Helpline on 0808 8020 133 or visit


Daily Mail
28 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Inside Jack Draper's bromance with fellow Brit Jack Pinnington Jones: Arguments over pick-up times, car DJing, pre-match texts and treatment room debriefs
One Jack dictated the pick-up time, the other decided the pick-me-up tunes. As the more senior of the Surrey teenagers and the only one with a licence, Jack Draper would do the driving to the National Tennis Centre in his second-hand Volkswagen Polo. But while Jack Pinnington Jones was grateful for the lift, he was less pleased with the early morning collection. 'Where he picked me up in Cobham, the traffic is a nightmare with the school run,' recalls 22-year-old Pinnington Jones, who is 15 months younger than Draper. 'So he would say, 'Right I'm going to be there at 6.30am, you're either there or you're not'. I'd be half asleep every time. 'It would only take us 20 minutes to get there because no one else was awake, so we'd be there at 7am. There was no breakfast until 8am, so it would just be us sitting there at the NTC.' Draper, however, remains unapologetic about those early starts. 'It was like, 'Would you rather go 45 minutes earlier or would you rather sit in traffic for two hours?',' says the British No1. 'We always argued about it because he'd be hitting at 11am and I'd be hitting at 9.30am. But he loved coming with me. We'd have a laugh.' For Pinnington Jones, the joy of those journeys came from being in charge of the auxiliary cable connecting his phone to Draper's car audio system. 'Unless he was excited to show me a new song he'd found, I'd get the aux,' says the world No281. 'At the beginning of the week, it would be UK rap. At the end of the week, it would be something more chill. 'It's the same car he has now, this little Polo. He treats it awfully. He's like, 'I don't need a nice car in London, I'm going to ding it anyway'. He has some boxing gloves in the mirror. He loves it.' Now, six years on from carsharing to Roehampton, Draper and Pinnington Jones are sharing the limelight at nearby Wimbledon. The friends have been separated in recent years, with Pinnington Jones moving to the States to attend Texas Christian University. But their bromance has been allowed to blossom again after Pinnington Jones quit college a month ago to return home and turn professional, then was handed a wildcard for Wimbledon. On Tuesday, he made the most of his opportunity at SW19, upsetting world No53 Tomas Martin Etcheverry in straight sets on his Grand Slam debut. And waiting to greet him in the treatment room after his breakthrough victory was Draper, who had also just come through his first-round tie. 'I saw him after the match and he came up and congratulated me,' says Pinnington Jones, who faces Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli in the second round on Thursday. 'He also sent me a text just before I went on saying, 'You're ready for this, go and embrace it'. 'It just means a lot that he's there supporting me. He's one of my best friends. Maybe one day I can get up to, maybe not where he is, but where we are playing the same tournaments.' For his part, Draper is of no doubt that his close pal will soon be joining him at the top table of tennis. 'He's immensely talented,' adds the fourth seed, who meets 2017 runner-up Marin Cilic on Thursday. 'I think he is going to be a top 100 player pretty soon. I think the British public have someone else to be really excited about.'