Jannik Sinner completes an afternoon in the furnace
Jannik Sinner won his Wimbledon opener in one hour and 48 minutes, leaving the 34 degree heat furious about the lack of a five set subplot. The weather had prepared an epic and received a polite early finish instead.
The world number one beat Luca Nardi 6 to 4, 6 to 3, 6 to 0. He faced no break points, which left the scoreboard with little to do except become progressively more judgemental.
Centre Court acquires a new Italian tradition
Sinner converted five chances of his own. Consequently, Wimbledon gained a new tradition of watching one Italian dismantle another Italian before the ice in the drinks had time to consider its options.
“The heat never established rhythm,” said Crispin Deuce Kettle of the Meteorological Umpire. “It threatened the players, glared at the crowd and lost the third set to ruthless hydration.”
Sinner had suffered a surprise defeat in Halle two weeks earlier. This response contained no hesitation and very little opportunity for anyone to finish a punnet of strawberries.
The panama hat community debates shade
British hope Jack Draper also advanced. Spectators maintained championship standards by wearing panama hats and discussing shade as if they had personally invented trees.
Sinner left the court ready for round two. The heat requested a wildcard into another match and promised to make itself unbearable, provided the players stayed on court long enough.
Wimbledon thanked Sinner for the efficiency. The weather did not. It had spent all morning rehearsing a dramatic collapse and now has to wait for someone else to drop a set.
Read the real story: The ATP Tour report on Sinner’s first round Wimbledon win.
