Wimbledon: Sinner Through To Second Round, Says 'First Matches Are Never Easy'
Top seed Jannik Sinner advanced to the second round at Wimbledon, defeating Luca Nardi 6-4, 6-3, 6-0.
Top seed Jannik Sinner smoothly advanced to the Wimbledon second round on Tuesday, defeating fellow Italian Luca Nardi in straight sets.
Despite the intense heat, Sinner hardly broke a sweat during his 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 victory, which lasted 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."
Last week, Sinner insisted that his unexpected decision to part ways with two of his coaching staff just before Wimbledon would not impact his quest to win the tournament for the first time.
He chose to move on from Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, his trainer and physiotherapist, seeking a new direction after his painful French Open final loss to Carlos Alcaraz.
The pair had been with Sinner since September 2024, helping him retain the Australian Open crown in January and reach the Roland Garros final in June.
When asked if the decision might jeopardise his Wimbledon challenge over the next fortnight, Sinner was adamant it would be beneficial, noting that coaches Simone Vagnozzi and Darren Cahill remained on his staff.
Based on his dominant performance against Nardi, the world number one, who returned from a three-month doping ban in May, appears unaffected by the coaching shake-up.
What Sinner Said After Winning?
'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 squandered a two-set lead and wasted three match points as Alcaraz staged a remarkable comeback to win the French Open final.
Sinner has yet to reach the Wimbledon final in his four visits, with a semi-final appearance in 2023 being his best effort.
The Italian's Wimbledon preparations were also hampered by a surprise last-16 defeat to 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 to continue hitting all the right notes in his Wimbledon title bid.
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