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DAY 2 MEN'S UPDATES: Sinner eases through opener, Zverev and Musetti fall

rugby01 July 2025 21:59| © AFP
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Jannik Sinner © Getty Images

Top seed Jannik Sinner eased into the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday, brushing aside fellow Italian Luca Nardi in straight sets.

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Unfazed by the searing heat, Sinner barely broke sweat in a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory lasting just one hour and 48 minutes on Court One.

"I'm very happy to come back here to such a special place for me," Sinner said.

"Playing an Italian is very unfortunate but one has to go through and luckily it was me."

Sinner last week insisted his surprise decision to part with two of his coaching staff on the eve of Wimbledon would not affect his bid to win the tournament for the first time.

He opted to move on from Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist, as he looks for a new direction following his painful French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.

The pair had been employed by Sinner since September 2024, helping him retain the Australian Open crown in January and reach the Roland Garros showpiece in June.

Asked if the decision might jeopardise his Wimbledon challenge over the next fortnight, Sinner was adamant it would be beneficial, with coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill still on his staff.

On the evidence of his dominant display against Nardi the world No 1, who returned from a three-month doping ban in May, will be just fine regardless of the coaching shake-up.

"We worked a lot after Halle (grass-court tournament) on the serve and in important moments I felt I was serving very well," Sinner said.

"First matches are never easy, so I'm very happy with the performance. It's a new tournament, new challenges.

"If you don't enjoy to play on these courts, I don't know where you will enjoy. I will try to keep going."

Sinner has won three of the past six Grand Slams, but the 23-year-old blew a two-set lead and wasted three match points as Alcaraz staged a comeback for the ages to win the French Open final.

Sinner has failed to reach the Wimbledon final in his four visits, with a last-four appearance in 2023 ranking as his best effort.

The Italian's Wimbledon preparations were also dented by a shock last-16 defeat against Alexander Bublik at Halle.

Playing world number 95 Nardi for the first time, Sinner had little trouble dispatching the 21-year-old in his first Grand Slam match since that bitter defeat at Roland Garros.

Sinner recently released a duet titled Polvere e Gloria, which means Dust and Glory, with renowned tenor Andrea Bocelli.

The Italian will hope he continues hitting all the right notes in his Wimbledon title bid.

ZVEREV FALLS TO RINDERKNECH IN FIVE-SET MARATHON 

Alexander 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.

MUSETTI  EXITS

Last year's semifinalist Lorenzo Musetti was also 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 semifinal 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.

"Really bad day at the office, I came here at the last minute and of course I didn't have much good feelings with my game and honestly the physical side and energy and whatever it takes to play a match like this," he said.

"I was struggling to feel comfortable on the court from the beginning, I was really losing focus and was not really reactive on the ball. Today felt like I had never played on this surface."

The 23-year-old recovered from a slow start to level the match but Basilashvili, a former top-20 player, raised his game at the end of the third set, breaking serve at 5-6 by winning a stunning rally with a volley into the open court.

Musetti's resistance withered in a 23-minute fourth set as the 33-year-old Basilashvili earned his first win in a Grand Slam since reaching the Wimbledon third round in 2022 and the first over a top-10 ranked player in a Grand Slam.

Musetti's limp exit means 10 men's seeds have already fallen before the conclusion of the first round.

BUBLIK'S BUBBLE BURST

Wimbledon dark horse Alexander Bublik's bubble was burst when the Kazakh was dragged into a battle by Spaniard Jaume Munar and beaten 6-4 3-6 4-6 7-6(5) 6-2.

Bublik, fresh from capturing his second Halle title last month, cut a frustrated figure towards the end of a lacklustre opening set against Munar on Court 14 where he surrendered his serve two times and barely dipped into his bag of tricks.

Having swapped his headband for a cap to shield himself from the heat, Bublik appeared a player transformed in the next set as he quickly found his range and erased the deficit after forcing Munar into a backhand error on set point.

The big crowds braving conditions on the outside court to catch the Kazakh trickster had to settle for a more workmanlike display early in the third set as Bublik fought back from 1-3 down before offering glimpses of his drop-shot brilliance.

With his tail up after securing the third set, 28th seed Bublik raced ahead in the fourth and was serving for the match at 5-4 before Munar clawed back to make it two sets apiece via the tiebreak.

Munar capitalised from there as the world number 55 took control of the match with an early break in the decider and sent his opponent tumbling out with minimum fuss.

PERRICARD EXITS BUT MAKES MARK WITH FASTEST SERVE

Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard departed Wimbledon as a first-round loser but the Frenchman left his mark on the Grand Slam with the fastest serve recorded in the tournament's history - a 153 mph (246 kph) missile against Taylor Fritz on Monday.

Perricard, whose match was later suspended due to the local 11pm curfew and resumed on Tuesday, was beaten 6-7(6) 6-7(8) 6-4 7-6(6) 6-4 but much of the talk in his press conference was about his status as a "serve-bot" in the men's game.

That was largely due to the 21-year-old's reputation for consistently hitting huge serves and his record-breaking effort in the opening game of the contest which eclipsed the previous tournament mark of 148 mph set by American Taylor Dent in 2010.

"I didn't check the speed, to be honest. I saw that last night. I lost the point. I'm not doing some special technique to have a big serve or a fast serve. I'm serving like I'm supposed to do," Perricard told reporters.

"We don't train a lot to be honest on this part of my game. It comes naturally."

Australian Sam Groth hit the fastest recorded serve at a professional event with a 163.7 mph (263.4 kph) rocket at the Busan Challenger in 2012, a match he lost in straight sets to prove big serves can be blunt weapons in the modern game.

Perricard, whose thundering deliveries are greatly aided by him being 6ft 8in, said he expected serves to only get faster in the future as players push the limits of their physicality.

"Players are stronger," he added. "They have bigger shoulders, so I don't know, 260 (kph), 270 (kph) maybe the next one is going to be."

DJOKOVIC PASSES MULLER TEST

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.

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 semifinals 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."

MORE RESULTS

Aleksandar Vukic (AUS) bt Tseng Chun-hsin (TPE) 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (7/5)

Pedro Martinez (ESP) bt George Loffhagen (GBR) 2-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-2

Mariano Navone (ARG) bt Denis Shapovalov (CAN x27) 3-6, 6-4, 6-1, 6-4

Grigor Dimitrov (BUL x19) bt Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN) 6-2, 6-3, 6-4

Corentin Moutet (FRA) bt Francisco Comesana (ARG) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2

Sebastian Ofner (AUT) bt Hamad Medjedovic (SRB) 7-6 (10/8), 3-1 ret

Tommy Paul (USA x13) bt Johannus Monday (GBR) 6-4, 6-4, 6-2

Ben Shelton (USA x10) bt Alex Bolt (AUS) 6-4, 7-6 (7/1), 7-6 (7/4)

Rinky Hijikata (AUS) bt David Goffin (BEL) 6-3, 6-1, 6-1

Reilly Opelka (USA) bt Alexander Shevchenko (KAZ) 6-3, 7-5, 7-6 (7/4)

Lorenzo Sonego (ITA) bt Jaime Faria (POR) 6-3, 6-4, 6-2

Jack Draper (GBR x4) bt Sebastian Baez (ARG) 6-2, 6-2, 2-1 ret

Marin Cilic (CRO) bt Raphaël Collignon (BEL) 6-3, 6-4, 6-3

Fabian Marozsan (HUN) bt James McCabe (AUS) 6-1, 6-4, 6-3

Flavio Cobolli (ITA x22) bt Beibit Zhukayev (KAZ) 6-3, 7-6 (9/7), 6-1

Jakub Mensík (CZE x15) bt Hugo Gaston (FRA) 6-1, 4-6, 6-2, 6-2

Alex De Minaur (AUS x11) bt Roberto Carballes Baena (ESP) 6-2, 6-2, 7-6 (7/2)

Arthur Cazaux (FRA) bt Adam Walton (AUS) 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 4-6, 6-7 (5/7), 6-1

August Holmgren (DEN) bt Quentin Halys (FRA) 7-6 (7/4), 6-3, 6-4

Tomas Machac (CZE x21) bt Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 6-3, 6-2, 6-4

Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB) bt Alex Michelsen (USA x30) 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (10/6)

Jesper de Jong (NED) bt Christopher Eubanks (USA) 6-3, 6-7 (5/7), 6-7 (7/9), 6-3, 7-6 (10/3)

Daniel Evans (GBR) bt Jay Clarke (GBR) 6-1, 7-5, 6-2

Botic van de Zandschulp (NED) bt Matteo Arnaldi (ITA) 7-6 (7/4), 7-6 (7/5), 6-4

Shintaro Mochizuki (JPN) bt Giulio Zeppieri (ITA) 2-6, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 7-5

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