London — World No 1 Jannik Sinner eased effortlessly into the second round at Wimbledon, as neither the stifling heat nor fellow Italian Luca Nardi could knock him out of his comfort zone in a 6-4 6-3 6-0 victory on Tuesday.
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 No 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 though Nardi did his best to hang on to his coat tails in the first two sets, his compatriot was simply too good.
“I am very happy to come back here, it’s a special place for me and playing against an Italian is very unfortunate for us but one has to go through so I’m happy that it’s me,” he said as the fans warmly saluted his victory.
Sinner’s three Grand Slam successes have come on hard courts in Australia and the US, while he has only once reached the semifinals at the All England Club.
Yet even against Nardi’s limited resistance, he showed he has the tools, the booming serve and walloping flat forehand, to thrive on Wimbledon’s lawns.
Sinner’s preparation was far from smooth, losing to Alexander Bublik in his second match at Halle in his only grass court warm-up event and splitting from his trainer and physiotherapist days before the Grand Slam got under way.
Yet having played only two matches since his gruelling Roland Garros final against Alcaraz, he looked fresh as he set about demolishing Nardi.
Relentless pressure
Sinner’s pressure was relentless and Nardi did well to save four break points in the first set before eventually crumbling under an increasingly hostile assault in the 10th game.
A stunning forehand winner brought up another two break points for Sinner and while the first went begging, there was no further reprieve for the 21-year-old.
If anything was going to unsettle Sinner it was the fierce heat on Court One as Wimbledon basked in the second day of a punishing heatwave, but with ice-packed towels draped around his neck at each change-over, he never looked like losing his cool.
Defending 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 in 2024 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.
Eala turned 20 in May and was making her first Wimbledon appearance but she immediately looked at home in the daunting surroundings of the sport’s most iconic court.
Reuters
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