Jannik Sinner recovered from twice falling behind as he defeated Miomir Kecmanovic in a five-set thriller to begin the defence of his Wimbledon title.

Opening proceedings on Centre Court as the 2026 tournament got under way, Sinner made a poor start and dropped the first set without even forcing a break-point opportunity.

After levelling the match, he then looked in serious danger of falling victim to an upset when he fell behind once again as Kecmanovic prevailed in a dramatic third-set tie-break.

But four-time grand slam winner Sinner was able to turn the match decisively in his favour when it mattered most, ultimately prevailing 4-6 6-3 6-7 (6-8) 6-2 6-3 in three hours and 30 minutes.

The Italian had already fended off two break points early on, but Kecmanovic kept pushing and was able to strike as he moved 5-4 ahead before impressively holding to love to clinch the opener.

However, the defending champion's response was strong, and Sinner broke at the first opportunity in the second set on his way to building a 4-1 advantage.

Kecmanovic forced a chance to break back in game seven, although Sinner managed to survive and later closed out the set with an ace.

But Sinner was unable to convert break chances in two consecutive Kecmanovic service games midway through the third set, in which he also had a worrying fall while changing direction on the fresh grass, drawing gasps from the crowd.

Yet another break chance passed Sinner by at 5-5 as Kecmanovic held firm to force a tie-break.

The breaker was going the top seed's way when he won the first three points, but once again Kecmanovic showed superb grit to fight back and then save a set point by winning a remarkable rally at 6-5, the first of three points the Serbian clinched to flip the script and nose himself back in front.

As he did after dropping the first, Sinner responded powerfully – breaking twice and not offering up a single opportunity on his own serve to comfortably claim the fourth set, even though there was blood visible on his shoe as his movement appeared restricted.

And Sinner repeated the trick in the deciding set as he found his groove, controlling his service games and landing what proved to be a match-winning break in game six, ending the clash with 72 winners and 31 aces.

Sinner survives as Wimbledon gets off to dramatic start

Sinner arrived at Wimbledon as the favourite, but his camp will have been worried after he dropped the opening set and nerves would have heightened further as he later fell 2-1 behind.

Discussion around the world number one's shock second-round exit at last month's French Open – when he gave up a commanding lead against Juan Manuel Cerundolo while struggling with the heat and sickness – dominated much of the build-up.

And given he had not played a competitive match since his Roland-Garros exit, a match that went the distance while he was in visible discomfort was a huge early test of where Sinner's game stands.

Despite making a string of uncharacteristic mistakes – he ended the match with 52 unforced errors – Sinner showed the resolve of a champion, overcoming an awful fall and an unexpected setback in the third set to ultimately seize control of the match and ruthlessly close things out.

Sinner has now won all five of his career meetings with Kecmanovic, who he also played at Wimbledon in 2024, winning a far more routine third-round clash in straight sets.

While he has dominated the Masters 1000 series this year, the pressure is on for Sinner this fortnight as he attempts to win his first grand slam crown of 2026, particularly with his great rival Carlos Alcaraz out injured.

Sinner now has a 38-3 record this season and will hope his second-round clash, which will come against Nuno Borges, proves to be a much more straightforward affair.