Jannik Sinner says he was lucky to escape unscathed after Wimbledon fall

LONDON – Defending Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner said that he was relieved to have avoided a serious injury, after slipping at the baseline and falling to the turf during his first-round win over Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia on June 29.

The fall occurred in the third set of his 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, 6-3 win, with the 24-year-old world No. 1 briefly clutching at his left hip afterwards, but he soldiered on to seal the win for a meeting with Portugal’s 48th-ranked Nuno Borges in the second round.

The Italian star, who injured his elbow during the fourth round of his triumphant Wimbledon run in 2025, was thankful that his latest tumble did not cause any lasting damage and highlighted the need to continue moving positively.

“One fall is a tough one because you can get injured,” he told reporters.

“It’s the most normal thing. Grass courts are like this. Especially the first couple of matches when the grass is very new, you slip a bit more.

“I got lucky there because things can go wrong very quickly. I try to still trust in my movement. Also the third, fourth and fifth sets were very important to keep moving in a natural way, which I did. I’m very glad nothing happened.”

He added that being a talented skier in his youth did not necessarily mean that he had better technique to avoid injuries during falls.

“There are some movements you can’t really control,” he said. “It’s just normal instinct.

“Skiing can help you in certain moments, but not when you fall, when you have zero control. We did a lot of prevention before this tournament because we knew things like this could happen potentially.

“Today it happened. So the most important thing is to take this part away and keep moving like before because if not, when you’re very scared, everything goes too slow. On this surface, you can’t do that.”

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic had to dig deep to beat China’s Wu Yibing.

In Carlos Alcaraz’s absence, the Serb, a seven-time Wimbledon champion, is expected to be one of Sinner’s main rivals.

The 39-year-old is chasing an all-time record of 25 Grand Slam singles titles and would become the oldest man to win a Grand Slam in the Open era if he lifts the trophy on July 12.

But reaching those historic targets will require a significant improvement from Djokovic, who laboured for over three hours in a 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over Chinese world No. 102 Wu.

“It was very challenging for me today. I’m feeling happy but not the freshest, I guess. It didn’t feel like the first round, to be honest,” said the eighth-ranked Djokovic, who plays Greece’s world No. 87 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.

“Wu deserves a round of applause for his incredible performance. He put me under a lot of pressure. I’ve never faced him before.

“Playing on this surface, these kinds of matches are decided on a few points and few shots.

“Thankfully I have the experience of the last 20-plus years of playing on this court that can help me a bit and manage the situation.

“It would be nice to combine the experience with a young, fresh body.

“That would be the winning formula.”

In women’s action on June 30, defending champion Iga Swiatek of Poland overcame a serious second-set wobble to reach the second round, beating powerful American Taylor Townsend 6-1, 2-6, 6-3. REUTERS, AFP