Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner crushes Luca Nardi; Barbora Krejcikova overcomes Alexandra Eala challenge

The Times of India at Wimbledon: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner is on flight mode, having locked out all distractions. The 23-year-old demonstrated it effectively on a blazing hot day at Wimbledon, when his serve rocked.

The Italian dropped just four points on his first serve against compatriot Luca Nardi in the first round. Sinner won 6-4, 6-3, 6-0 in one-hour and 49-minutes.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The three-time major winner, whose best result here is a semifinal in 2023, has been working on his serve, which can be a weapon at a whole different level on this surface. Sinner has been watching other players. John Isner, who has the most aces in a tournament with 214 during the 2018 Wimbledon, and also the most career aces at 14,470, has been someone the top-seed is looking at.

Sinner, who goes up against Aussie Aleksandar Vukic in the second round on Thursday, didn’t face a breakpoint in the match. “I feel quite comfortable at the moment,” he said of his serve. Sinner’s quick result was a relief for the tournament as top players struggled with the muggy conditions on the opening day and again on Tuesday.
The Italian, who tested positive twice in March last year for the banned steroid Clostebol, but was cleared of fault or negligence, is playing here for the first time after the news of the positive tests became public.

“I think people have forgotten already a little bit what happened,” said Sinner, who had his fair share of support on Court No. 1 on Tuesday. The Italian explained that the situation in the locker-room had also changed, with a lot of players, who had issues with the way the world No.

1 was treated, have put the situation behind them.

Perricard serves fastest; Fritz winsIn the opening game of a first-round match, Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard thumped a 153 mph first serve.

It was five miles per hour faster than the previous Wimbledon speed record of 148 mph by American Taylor Dent hit 15 summers ago.That was the Frenchman’s takeaway from the three-hour 25-minute clash against the fifth-seeded American Taylor Fritz. Fritz, who didn’t face a single breakpoint in the match, broke at love in the tenth game to close out 6-7 (6), 6-7 (8), 6-4, 7-6 (6), 6-4.In other first-round matches, defending champion Czech Barbora Krejcikova, playing just her seventh match of the season, beat Philippines’ Alexandra Eala 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 in two hours and 10-minutes.