ATP Tour

Sinner speeds past Nardi in Wimbledon opener, Draper advances

Jannik Sinner wasted little energy in the London heat on Tuesday, when the top seed raced to a 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 first-round victory against Luca Nardi at Wimbledon.

In stark contrast to his great rival Carlos Alcaraz, who began his campaign with a gruelling five-set battle against Fabio Fognini on Monday, Sinner eased past his countryman Nardi in just one hour, 48 minutes. The No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings converted five of 13 break points he earned and did not face any break points himself in a dominant display on No. 1 Court, where temperatures reached as high as 34 degrees Celsius.

“I’m very happy to come back here. It’s such a special place for me,” said Sinner in his on-court interview. “Playing against an Italian is for us very unfortunate, but one has to go through, so I’m happy that it is me. The atmosphere as always is amazing, thanks so much. I know it’s very hot, very humid. I don’t remember the last time it was this weather in London.”

Sinner soars ahead 🚀

He manoeuvres past Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0 🔥@wimbledon | #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/ewu9BLQAYV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 1, 2025

Tuesday’s match was Sinner’s first on the Grand Slam stage since he let slip three championship points against Alcaraz in last month’s Roland Garros final. The Italian was keen to look forward when asked if his confident start at Wimbledon represented some form of reset.

“It’s a new tournament. New chances, new challenges,” said Sinner. “You have one opponent at a time, so I’m very happy about today. Obviously, I try to keep going and try to enjoy playing here. If you don’t enjoy playing on these courts, I don’t know where you are going to enjoy it. I’m very happy to be here and let’s see what comes.”

Sinner dropped just 12 points on serve in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with the World No. 95 Nardi. Although he had to wait for success on return until the 10th game, when he broke Nardi’s serve decisively to claim the first set, he barely looked back and dropped just three more games from then on.

“We worked a lot after Halle on the serve,” said Sinner. “Today, especially in the important moments, I was serving very well. In the beginning, I think we both struggled a little bit and there were not so many rallies, but after I tried to step up. I tried to hit through the ball. I’m very happy with how I ended the match, and hopefully that gives me the confidence to start the next match.

“First matches are never easy, so I’m very happy about my performance and especially my serving today.”

With his impressive response to his second-round loss to Alexander Bublik in Halle two weeks ago, Sinner set a meeting with Aleksandar Vukic, who defeated Tseng Chun-Hsin 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(5), at Wimbledon. The 23-year-old, who has won three of the past six majors, has now won all 14 tour-level matches he has contested against fellow Italians.

World No. 4 and British No. 1 Jack Draper also advanced on Court No. 1 on Tuesday when Sebastian Baez was forced to retire due to injury. The lefty led the Argentine 6-2, 6-2, 2-1 after 78 minutes.

Draper arrives at this year's Championships off the back of a career-best year. The 23-year-old lifted his maiden ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and then reached the final in Madrid. Earlier this month he enjoyed a semi-final run on grass at The Queen's Club. Aiming to find his best level in London, Draper will play Marin Cilic in the second round.