Miomir Kecmanovic pushed Jannik Sinner all the way in their first round match at Wimbledon.
Sinner is the favourite to win Wimbledon this year, despite his shock defeat in the second round of Roland Garros.
Despite this, the world number one twice had to come from a set down in his first round match, where Sinner beat Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6(6)-7, 6-2, 6-3, despite his right foot bleeding for much of the match.
After putting up a real fight against the defending Wimbledon champion, Kecmanovic has revealed how he felt.
Miomir Kecmanovic suggests if he felt like Jannik Sinner was more beatable after Roland Garros
Kecmanovic spoke in his post-match press conference after losing to Sinner, where he admitted his mixed feelings.
However, the Serbian was mostly proud of his performance, particularly as Kecmanovic had only ever won one set in his four previous matches against Sinner.
“Yeah, I mean, obviously tough match,” said Kecmanovic. “You know, kind of bummed out, you know, the way it turned out, but at the same time, I’m proud that I was able to, you know, to play five sets, you know, against him, especially since I have never done it against a world number one on Centre Court, so I’m happy that I was finally able to show some good tennis.”
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Kecmanovic was then asked a follow-up question about Sinner and whether he now feels more beatable after his second round defeat at Roland Garros.
“I mean, yes. If I expect, you know, to be 40 degrees and to play four hours, then yes,” answered Kecmanovic. “You know, to get to that point, you know you need a lot of good points, good play.
“We all know Jannik is obviously amazing, and yeah, I mean, like I said, I’m just happy that I believed in myself, first of all, that I could play at this level, and that I hung on for so long and, you know, gave him a tough match.”
When did Jannik Sinner last lose in the first round of a Grand Slam?
After Sinner found himself two sets to one down against Kecmanovic, there appeared to be a real chance that he could lose in the first round of Wimbledon.
The Italian has only suffered four first round Grand Slam defeats before, with Sinner’s last coming at Wimbledon in 2021.
This was when Sinner was just 19 years old and was beaten in the first round by Marton Fucsovics, who reached the quarter-finals that year.
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Sinner is now a four-time Grand Slam champion and Wimbledon winner and is still in the running to defend his title.
The 24-year-old will be hoping for a more straightforward second round match, where Sinner will take on Nuno Borges.
Sinner beat Borges in their only previous meeting and he will be hoping to do so again on Wednesday, July 1.
