Sinner survives five-set scare, Djokovic battles through as Wimbledon begins

Wimbledon’s opening Monday delivered exactly the kind of theatre the All England Club does better than anywhere else — defending champion Jannik Sinner fighting for his tournament life on Centre Court, a 24-time Grand Slam champion grinding through four sets against a player half his age, and home heartbreak stacking up court by court as Britain’s best fell early, one after another.

London, England: The first day of the Championships rarely settles into a single narrative, and Monday, 29 June 2026, was no exception. Top seed Jannik Sinner survived a scare to win his first-round match, keeping his title defence alive, while the defending Wimbledon order asserted itself elsewhere even as the home crowd watched ten British players exit across the men’s and women’s draws on a single, brutal opening day.

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Sinner’s Five-Set Survival Act

The day’s headline drama belonged to the world No. 1. Sinner needed five sets to defeat Miomir Kecmanović 4-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-2, 6-3 in a grueling match that saw him take an awkward fall early on, raising concern about a second straight early exit a year on from his title-winning run. The Italian’s title defence hung by a thread for long stretches. Sinner dealt with several scares throughout, including the early fall where his legs bent at odd angles and he grimaced reaching for his left hip, before blood appeared to be seeping through his shoe as the match wore on — Kecmanović deploying a blistering and effective backhand and capitalising on uncharacteristic unforced errors from the top seed.

Sinner dug deep with a 6-2 win in the fourth set to send the match to a decider, and closed it out from there. He finished with 31 aces to Kecmanović’s single ace, and afterward explained away the blood-soaked shoe as “just a nail I didn’t want to disturb.” A nervy start, but the defence of his crown remains alive.

Djokovic Grinds Past Wu in Four

In the day’s final match on Centre Court, the tournament’s most decorated champion had his own fight on his hands. Novak Djokovic defeated Yibing Wu in a four-set thriller, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4. Wu’s forehand challenged the 24-time Grand Slam champion throughout, and trailing two sets to one, the Chinese No. 1 had six break-point opportunities in a two-game span but failed to convert any of them. Djokovic ultimately broke Wu through relentless defense before serving out the match — a result that extends the Serbian’s pursuit of an eighth Wimbledon crown, even if the performance carried more grit than gloss.

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Medvedev and Auger-Aliassime Cruise

Elsewhere among the seeds, the day produced far less drama. No. 8 seed Daniil Medvedev was clinical and controlled against former Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic, dispatching him 6-1, 6-2, 6-4 with barely a foot wrong on No. 1 Court. No. 3 seed Félix Auger-Aliassime made similarly serene progress, defeating Aleksandr Shevchenko 6-3, 6-1, 6-4.

Seeds Fall: Ruud and Rublev Both Beaten

Not every seed survived the opening day unscathed. Hubert Hurkacz, a former semi-finalist who looked dangerous on grass throughout, dispatched No. 11 seed Casper Ruud in straight sets, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6. An even bigger upset followed on an outside court, where it took three hours and 57 minutes and a lengthy final-set tiebreak for Roman Safiullin to take down No. 12 seed Andrey Rublev, 6-4, 6-7, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6.

A Miserable Monday for the British Contingent

If the seeds largely held, the day belonged to heartbreak for the home nation. Jack Draper withdrew from his scheduled first-round match against Taylor Fritz due to a recurrence of the bone injury in his left arm that ended his 2025 season, calling it “definitely the absolute worst” moment of a painful twelve months. Fritz instead inherited Dušan Lajović as a lucky-loser replacement opponent.

Worse followed on court. Britain’s top-seeded man, No. 26 Cameron Norrie, was knocked out on the very first day, requiring a five-set marathon from American qualifier Michael Zheng, who eventually prevailed 6-7, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3, 7-6. Felix Gill, Max Basing and Oliver Tarvet also exited the men’s draw, with No. 25 seed Arthur Rinderknech needing four sets to see off Tarvet 7-6, 7-6, 4-6, 7-5. In total, ten British players across the men’s and women’s singles draws exited on Monday alone, taking home a combined £800,000 before tax but leaving the home challenge considerably thinner than hoped just one day into the Championships.

American Strength and Rising Stars

Away from the British misery, it was an encouraging day for the American contingent and the sport’s emerging talents. No. 16 seed Learner Tien and No. 21 seed Tommy Paul both opened with wins, Tommy Paul dismissing Alexandre Müller 6-1, 6-2, 6-1, while Ethan Quinn pulled off one of the upsets of the day, taking down No. 14 seed Luciano Darderi 7-6, 7-5, 6-2. Nineteen-year-old Brazilian sensation João Fonseca, fresh off a Roland Garros quarter-final, impressed with a straight-sets win over Roberto Bautista Agut, 7-6, 6-4, 6-3, continuing his rapid rise on tour.

Among the day’s other notable results: Stefanos Tsitsipas eased past Hugo Gaston 6-1, 6-4, 6-2, while Botic van de Zandschulp defeated Aleksandar Kovačević 6-3, 6-7, 6-4, 6-0. Márton Fucsovics advanced when Luca Van Assche retired while trailing 6-3, 4-0, and at the close of play, two first-round matches — Brandon Nakashima against British wildcard Jack Pinnington Jones, and Jesper de Jong against Rinky Hijikata — were suspended due to fading light, with both to resume on Tuesday.

Day 1 is in the books. The defending champion survived, the seven-time champion ground through, and Britain’s hopes already look considerably lighter than they did on Sunday evening. Day 2 brings Carlos Alcaraz’s absence into sharper focus, with the men’s draw wide open in a way it hasn’t been in years.

Wimbledon 2026 — Men’s Singles, Day 1 Selected Results
All England Club, London | Monday, 29 June 2026

Withdrawal: Jack Draper (left arm injury recurrence)
Suspended (resume Tuesday): Brandon Nakashima vs Jack Pinnington Jones; Jesper de Jong vs Rinky Hijikata