Jannik Sinner’s confidence has been questioned by a former Wimbledon finalist after his five-set opening round win at the All England Club.
The world No 1 survived a scare to defeat 50th-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 in the first match of his Wimbledon title defence.
Sinner was below his best for large spells of the match and hit 52 unforced errors — 42 of which came across the first three sets.
Despite this, Sinner with 72 winners, including an impressive tally of 31 aces, and he never looked in danger in the fourth and fifth sets.
The four-time Grand Slam champion was playing his first match since his dramatic five-set defeat against Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the second round at Roland Garros last month.
Speaking on the BBC after Sinner’s opening round win at Wimbledon, Eugenie Bouchard claimed Sinner’s early French Open exit exposed “some cracks” in his confidence.
“I think the rest of the players saw some cracks [in Sinner] at the French Open, and I think now they have this confidence that, ‘hey, if I stay with him, I might have a chance later on in a match’,” said the former world No 5, who reached the 2014 Wimbledon final.
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“And he’s not this perfect godly tennis player that we’ve seen so much in the last couple of years. And so I think that lack of confidence on Sinner’s side, and the increase in confidence of the opponents he plays, plays a part mentally in these matches.
“Especially a first round match at a Slam, Tough to overcome all of that considering what just happened at Roland Garros.”
Former world No 4 Tim Henman then gave his verdict.
“I think that’s what happened in Paris, we saw that incredible upset, and then it was like the ripple effect, it went through the draw,” said the former British No 1.
“The underdogs were like, ‘well, if he can do it, why not me?’ And then the number of upsets that took place was incredible.
“And then you’re suddenly thinking, wow, are we going to have one of the biggest upsets of all time.”
Tracy Austin, a two-time Grand Slam winner and former world No 1, also weighed in.
“I think because he lost so early in Paris, you’ve got to remember that he hasn’t played in about four and a half weeks,” said the American.
“For a tennis player, that’s a long time. And I can’t think of anything more difficult than transitioning from high-bouncing red clay, to slick and low-bouncing grass.
“These are difficult conditions, [Sinner is] the defending champion, so extra nerves. You’re playing against Kecmanovic, who has nothing to lose, who is playing freely.
“I was actually surprised at how many unforced errors, un-Sinner-like errors, he was making. And he didn’t have a match prep on grass before coming to Wimbledon.”
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