Sinner enjoys 'beautiful' month in wake of crushing French Open final loss
Sinner marched into the second round at Wimbledon with a 6-4 6-3 6-0 drubbing of Luca Nardi and if he still bore the scars of his epic five-set loss to Alcaraz at Roland Garros, they were certainly not on show as he bulldozed past his fellow Italian.
When asked how tough it had been over the last month, which also included an early exit at Halle in his only grasscourt warm-up, the world number one was almost entirely positive.
"As a person, I know how important tennis is for me and for my life. I think it taught me so many things. But I also know that outside of tennis is a different life, which is more important," he told reporters.
"For sure last month was not easy at times. But in the other way, it was beautiful, you know? So many things happened. Never thought that I would play a final of a Grand Slam like this.
"So all positive things, to be honest.
"Now I'm here. I'm here to show also myself that I'm capable of playing tennis also on grass hopefully. I showed it last year. I felt like I have improved a lot on this surface. So let's see what I can do this year."
Three-times Grand Slam champion Sinner, who has never got past the Wimbledon semi-finals, looked every inch a grasscourt master as he dismantled Nardi in stifling conditions on Court One.
He lost only four points on his first serve, which was functioning like clockwork against Nardi, who bravely clung on for the first two sets before capitulating completely in the third.
When it was suggested to Sinner that he had modelled his serve on John Isner, who wrote his name in Wimbledon history with his 11-hour marathon win over Nicolas Mahut in 2010, the Italian suggested there also others he was trying to emulate.
"Of course, you try to improve by watching some other servings, no? For sure he (Isner) is one of the list we try to watch," added top seed Sinner, who will face Aleksandar Vukic in the next round.
"I feel quite comfortable at the moment. We worked a lot in this week of preparation with the serve, trying to slow a little bit the rhythm in the beginning.
"So today it felt very well, especially the first serve. He (Nardi) was struggling also to return the second serve today. But again, I'm happy about the progress. Of course, we try to keep working."
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BBC News
41 minutes ago
- BBC News
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The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Jack Draper determined to unlock his grass-court game as he eyes Wimbledon first
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Telegraph
an hour ago
- Telegraph
Live Wimbledon 2025: Live updates from Cameron Norrie v Frances Tiafoe
1:21PM Norrie 1-1 Tiafoe* Tiafoe takes the first two points comfortably and then sends Norrie the wrong way with a lovely backhand pass for 40-love. He tries a drop shot after a quick rally but it falls short. 15-40. Norrie replies in kind with a more successful drop shot, which the American reaches, but Norrie finishes at the net. Norri gets the next serve back but is forced wide by the Tiafoe slice and the American wins the game with a shot into the open court. Tiafoe holds serve. 1:16PM Norrie* 1-0 Tiafoe Tiafoe puts one of those white sleeves on his arm, the sort we have seen Jacob Fearnley wearing. But it doesn't help him return any of four serves he has to face, the first of which he sends wide, the next three of which he crashes into the net. Love game. Good start by Norrie. Norrie holds serve. 1:05PM Players on court Tiafoe is making his way through the newly-built tunnel that leads from the changing rooms to Court No 1. He has big headphones – and game face – on. He knows he's in for a battle, against a redoubtable opponent and the 12th man that is the home crowd. He is suddenly joined in the tunnel by Norrie, who appears magically from off camera, as though he has been hiding behind a pot plant. Mind games early on. Good to see. The players are now walking out on court. Tiafoe wins the toss, calls tails, and elects to receive. We will soon be under way. 12:50PM Norrie and Tiafoe evenly matched Norrie vs Tiafoe promises to be a fascinating match-up as neither player had a particularly eye-opening build-up to Wimbledon. Norrie crashed out early at both Queen's and Eastbourne, while Tiafoe lost his only match on grass – his least favoured surface – at Queen's. That said, they both returned to winning ways in the first round here, which is no mean feat considering the rate at which seeds have tumbled out already. Tiafoe came through in three sets against Elmer Moller, while Norrie claimed the scalp of an in-form Roberto Bautista Agut in four. The British No 3 produced 18 aces with a 71 per cent first serve percentage. He attacked the net 36 times and won 27 of those points, while concerting four of seven break points. If he reproduces that form Norrie will be more than a match for the American, who has won two of their three previous meetings, but has never faced the British No 3 grass. 12:36PM Wimbledon limbo It's a curious kind of limbo for the ground staff at the moment as the weather fails to make up its mind. I can see a gang of them gathered indecisively on Court 14. The covers are off but the net-posts aren't in yet. My suspicion is that we won't see a lot of play until No1 Court starts under the roof at 1pm. 12:29PM Play to get under way shortly The announcer at Wimbledon has just said that there will be no match play before 12.45pm, which one assumes is their way of saying that play will get under way at 12.45pm. Either way Norrie v Tiafoe will definitely get under way at 1pm on No 1 Court and you can follow it blow by blow right here. 12:19PM Bloodbath among the seeds Not three days in and it has been quite the Championships so far. There are 10 British players in the second round, which is virtually unheard of, while 23 seeds have crashed out in the first round. Coco Gauff and Paula Badosa have gone on the women's side, while Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Matteo Berrettini, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Holger Rune an Francisco Cerundolo are just some of the men who have also packed their bags already. Alexander Bublik's exit is also quite a surprise. The Kazak, who knocked Jack Draper out of Queen's, was fancied by many to go deep in the competition but Draper can at least relax in the knowledge he won't have to face him again for a while. 11:57AM Play pushed back With the first deadline of 11.45am having been passed for play to get under way on the outside courts, they have now pushed the earliest start time back to 12.15pm. That looks ambitious though. The covers are still on, and although there is some activity among the ground staff, the skies remain leaden. Correction! The covers are now being rolled back. This is England. We don't worry about grey skies. It's 22C out here. Positively tropical! 11:49AM Norrie v Tiafoe at 1pm Although the rain has stopped coming down as hard now, it is still drizzling lightly and so the covers remain in place on the outside courts. It's a real shame for those fans who have made the effort to get up at the crack of dawn and in some cases, camp overnight, in order to see some of the world's greatest players perform live. It is expected to clear up in the next two hours or so, so their journey won't have been completely wasted. For those lucky enough to have tickets for Centre Court or No 1 Court their viewing will remain unaffected as matches can take place under the cover of their retractable roofs, so it will be business as usual on the show courts, where action gets under way. Aryna Sabalenka, the No 1 seed, is up first against Marie Bouskova of Czech Republic on Centre Court at 1.30pm, while before that, on Centre Court, British No 3 Cameron Norrie takes on Frances Tiafoe of the United States on No 1 Court at 1pm. This promises to be a cracking contest and the first match we will be covering on this blog. The subsequent match between Katie Boulter and Solana Sierra of Argentina will also be covered right here. And as we speak Boulter has just arrived with her coach, carrying her massive Wilson tennis bag, which is almost bigger than her. She looks in great spirits, smiling at everyone as she walks into the players practice area, and why shouldn't she be happy. She played brilliantly in the first round and will be confident of another victory today.
