Sinner cruises as Wimbledon seeds fall, Krejcikova survives

World number one Jannik Sinner stayed cool to reach the second round of Wimbledon while several of his fellow seeds including Italian compatriot Lorenzo Musetti and American hope Jessica Pegula and Alexander Zverev crashed and burned on a sizzling Tuesday.

- Associated Press

A red-hot Sinner effortlessly eased through beating fellow Italian and close friend Luca Nardi 6-4 6-3 6-0 in a victorious return to the Grand Slam stage after his epic French Open final defeat by Carlos Alcaraz last month.

Zverev became the highest men’s seed to fall in a brutal first round for top players as the German lost a five-set marathon to France’s Arthur Rinderknech.

Third seed Zverev and Rinderknech were locked at one set apiece on Monday when play was stopped, but after the resumption on a sultry Centre Court the Frenchman ground out a 7-6(3) 6-7(8) 6-3 6-7(5) 6-4 victory.

It was Zverev's first opening round defeat at a Grand Slam since Wimbledon in 2019 and leaves him still searching for a first major after 38 attempts.

Rinderknech will face Chilean Lucky Loser Cristian Garin in round two. Zverev's defeat means 12 of the 32 men’s seeds have failed to reach the second round.

Sinner’s other friend Musetti, last year’s semi-finalist, was dumped out by Georgian qualifier Nikoloz Basilashvili, who prevailed 6-2 4-6 7-5 6-1 on a muggy Court Two.