Sinner, Krejcikova reach Wimbledon 2nd round as Musetti, Pegula exit early
Returning to the Grand Slam stage for the first time since his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz, the three- times major winner had a much less testing workout against world number 95 Nardi.
His compatriot had spoken in the past about learning from Sinner but this was a lesson in the differences between the best and the rest.
Sinner was bigger, stronger, faster, hit the ball harder and served better, and although Nardi did his best to hang on to his coat tails in the first two sets, his compatriot was simply too good.
Elsewhere, last year's semi-finalist Lorenzo Musetti was dumped out in the first round by inspired Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili.
Seventh seed Musetti, playing his first match since retiring in the French Open semi-final against Carlos Alcaraz with a leg injury, never looked settled against the world number 126 and went down 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 on a muggy Court Two.
Defending women's champion Barbora Krejcikova survived a stiff examination from promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala before finding her groove to triumph 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Wimbledon's Centre Court.
Czech Krejcikova, a shock winner as 31st seed last year and seeded 17th this time, came into the tournament short on form after a succession of injuries and initially had no answer to the confident, free-swinging Eala, who is the first woman from the Philippines to play at Wimbledon.
Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen became the second big casualty at Wimbledon on Tuesday as the Chinese fifth seed was beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 in the first round by Czech Katerina Siniakova.
Zheng powered her way to gold in Paris last year and was tipped for a strong run at the All England Club but doubles specialist Siniakova had too much grasscourt craft.
Earlier, American Jessica Pegula, the third seed, was dismantled 6-2 6-3 by Italian Elisabetta Cocciaretto.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Dubai Eye
2 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Zverev considers therapy after shock first round Wimbledon exit
Alexander Zverev cut a forlorn figure after he became the highest men's seed to fall in a brutal first round for top players at Wimbledon as the German lost a five-set marathon to France's Arthur Rinderknech. Third seed Zverev and Rinderknech were locked at one set apiece on Monday when play was stopped but after the resumption on a sultry Centre Court the Frenchman ground out a 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 victory. It was Zverev's first opening-round defeat at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2019 and leaves him still searching for a first major after 38 attempts. He appeared to be a lost soul as he tried to come to terms with Tuesday's defeat, explaining that his off-court struggles were now impacting his game. "I feel very alone out there at times," said Zverev, who lost a third Grand Slam final when he was beaten by Jannik Sinner at Melbourne Park in January. "I struggle mentally. I've been saying that since after the Australian Open. Yeah, just don't know. I'm trying to find ways to get out of this hole. I keep finding myself back in it. "I just feel generally very, very alone and very lonely... is a feeling that is not very nice. Just never felt that way before. "I don't think tennis is the problem right now for me. It's something else that I have to find within me at the moment. Again, it's difficult for me to tell you because I don't have the answers right now." Zverev has had to deal with a number of issues in recent years. He settled an assault case against him for allegedly pushing and strangling his then girlfriend, a charge he denied, last year. He also previously faced allegations of domestic abuse against another former girlfriend, with the ATP halting its investigation due to insufficient evidence. While he previously managed to block out those distractions, on Tuesday he admitted he might need to undergo counselling to get back into the right headspace. "Maybe for the first time in my life, I'll probably need it (therapy). I've been through a lot of difficulties in life generally. I've never felt this empty before. Just lacking joy, just lacking joy in everything that I do," said Zverev, who last won a title in April. "It's not necessarily about tennis. Just lacking joy outside of tennis, as well. Even when I'm winning... it's not necessarily a feeling that I used to get where I was happy, over the moon. "It's just not there right now for me, which, again, is the first time in my life which I'm feeling." Zverev's mental torment surfaced time and time again against Rinderknech. The German failed to convert any of the nine break points he earned during the contest and also dropped serve when he was 40-0 up. Despite his own struggles, Zverev did not want to take anything away from his 72nd-ranked conqueror. "He played a fantastic match. I'm not sure he's ever played a match like that in his life," said the 28-year-old. "I felt like I had him in the fifth... but I was too defensive in some of the opportunities I had. I lost my serve from being 40-0 up... it was my mistake. I had it on my racket. "Arthur deserved to win today. I didn't break him once, which speaks a lot for him. The fifth set I played okay, just apart from that one stupid game. I let go of the match in the fifth set." Rinderknech will face Chilean lucky loser Cristian Garin in round two. Zverev's defeat means 13 of the 32 men's seeds have failed to reach the second round.
Dubai Eye
2 hours ago
- Dubai Eye
Djokovic passes Muller test to reach Wimbledon second round
Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic was made to work hard after a strong start as he began his bid for a 25th Grand Slam title by beating unseeded Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-1 6-7(7) 6-2 6-2 to reach the second round on Tuesday. The sixth seed, who is aiming to equal Roger Federer's haul at the All England Club and move past Margaret Court in the all-time list of major champions, will take on British wild card Dan Evans in the next round. "I wouldn't be here if I didn't think I have a chance, to be honest," Djokovic said. "I think I always have a chance, I've earned my right to feel I can go all the way to the title. I've had arguably the most success of any Grand Slam here in the last decade. "It's just the beginning of the tournament. There are many fantastic players in the draw. I'm going to be playing a Briton in the next round. That's going to be a tough one, but I look forward to it. "I've always felt like grass, particularly in the second part of my career, was really the surface where I played my best tennis, so why not do it again?" Djokovic, who endured a poor year before lifting his 100th tour-level trophy in Geneva ahead of a run to the semi-finals of the French Open, powered through the opening set against Muller by winning six games on the trot. Muller put up much more of a fight in the next set, saving five breakpoints to hold for 4-4 before forcing a tiebreak where he raised his game again to battle from 2-5 down and draw level in the match. Djokovic caught his breath when the Centre Court roof was closed and then took a medical timeout early in the third set for a stomach problem, before going up 3-2 with a break after Muller hit his sixth double fault of the match. Having wrapped up the third set, Djokovic racked up a 4-2 advantage in the fourth set with an exquisite backhand winner and there was no looking back from there as he completed the victory by holding to love. "I went from feeling my absolute best for a set and a half to my absolute worst for about 45 minutes," Djokovic added. "Whether it was a stomach bug, I don't know what it was, but I just struggled with that. The energy kicked back in after some doctor's miracle pills. "I managed to finish the match on a good note."
Gulf Today
5 hours ago
- Gulf Today
Sinner cruises as Wimbledon seeds fall, Krejcikova survives
World number one Jannik Sinner stayed cool to reach the second round of Wimbledon while several of his fellow seeds including Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and American hope Jessica Pegula and Alexander Zverev crashed and burned on a sizzling Tuesday. A red-hot Sinner effortlessly eased through beating fellow Italian and close friend Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0 in a victorious return to the Grand Slam stage after his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month. Zverev became the highest men's seed to fall in a brutal first round for top players as the German lost a five-set marathon to France's Arthur Rinderknech. Third seed Zverev and Rinderknech were locked at one set apiece on Monday when play was stopped, but after the resumption on a sultry Centre Court the Frenchman ground out a 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 victory. It was Zverev's first opening round defeat at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2019 and leaves him still searching for a first major after 38 attempts. Rinderknech will face Chilean Lucky Loser Cristian Garin in round two. Zverev's defeat means 12 of the 32 men's seeds have failed to reach the second round. Sinner's other friend Musetti, last year's semi-finalist, was dumped out by Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, who prevailed 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 on a muggy Court Two. EXIT DOOR: Wimbledon dark horse Alexander Bublik, seeded 28th, was also unable to avoid the exit door, as the Kazakh showman was dragged into battle by Spaniard Jaume Munar and beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2 to continue the exodus of seeded men's players. Taylor Fritz let out a massive roar but it might as well have been a sigh of relief after the fifth-seeded American moved past big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-7(6) 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 in a match carried forward from Monday. His American compatriot Tommy Paul took out Briton Johannus Monday with little fuss, the 13th seed cruising 6-4 6-4 6-2, but it was the end of the road for 30th seed Alex Michelsen who fell 6-2 3-6 6-3 3-6 7-6(6) to Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic. On the women's side, defending champion Barbora Krejcikova was tested by promising 20-year-old Filipina Alexandra Eala, but she found best form to win 3-6 6-2 6-1 on her return to Centre Court after last year's surprise triumph. 'I mean, what the hell (kind of tennis) she played in the first set?,' said Krejcikova, praising her opponent. 'She was smashing the ball and cleaning the lines, so wow, wow. She's going to be really good in a couple of years.' While Eala missed her chance to make history, Zeynep Sonmez became the first Turkish woman to reach the second round at the grasscourt Grand Slam when she battled past Romania's Jaqueline Cristian 7-6(5) 6-3. Third seed Pegula was unable to put up a fight as she fell 6-2 6-3 in 58 minutes to Elisabetta Cocciaretto before Olympic champion and fifth seed Qinwen Zheng was beaten 7-5 4-6 6-1 by Czech Katerina Siniakova. Five-times Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek faced a tight opening set against Polina Kudermetova but the eighth seed won 7-5 6-1 while Russian teenager Mirra Andreeva advanced after a 6-3 6-3 victory over Mayar Sherif. Victoria Mboko found out a few hours before she faced Magdalena Frech that she had entered the main draw as a lucky loser due to Anastasia Potapova's pullout and the Canadian teenager rode her luck to stun the 25th seed 6-3 6-2. (Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in London Editing by Christian Radnedge) Petra Kvitova's Wimbledon farewell ended in an emotional defeat as the two-time champion was beaten 6-3, 6-1 by Emma Navarro in the first round on Tuesday. Kvitova returned from maternity leave in February following the birth of her son Petr in 2024, but found it difficult to handle the demands of being a mother on the gruelling tennis circuit. The 35-year-old Czech announced last week that she will bring the curtain down on her career after the US Open in August. Kvitova's decision gave the former world number two, who has won 31 titles in her career, one last opportunity to return to the scene of her Wimbledon triumphs. But American 10th seed Navarro ruined her hopes of a long Wimbledon goodbye with a clinical 60-minute victory on Court One. Agencies
