Defending champion Jannik Sinner kicked off his Wimbledon title defense with a five-set win against 50th-ranked Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of Wimbledon on Monday. Sinner bounced back from a set down twice and also had to battle through an injury to advance to the next round as he won by 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (6), 6-2, 6-3.

The Italian was recently stunned in the second round of the Roland Garros by Juan Manuel Cerundolo, and it was crucial for him to begin his Wimbledon campaign with a win.

Sinner took 3 hours and 30 minutes at Centre Court and admitted he was “a little tight in the beginning,” while playing his first grass court match of the season.

“It’s such a huge honour to start the tournament,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “I was a little tight in the beginning. I didn’t play my very best, but I tried to get into it. It was my first official match on grass. I’m happy that I turned it around. The third set was a very tough one to swallow…”

The World No.1 admitted he was feeling the butterflies in his stomach while walking up to the court.

“It was a very, very different feeling,” he said. “There are a lot of nerves when you go down the stairs behind the court. Also mentally knowing it’s such a prestige court and such a historical court.”

As the match progressed, Sinner was seen bleeding through his right shoe but revealed the injury is not serious.

“I’m good,” Sinner said. “It just seems much worse than it is. … It’s just a nail.”

In the third-set tiebreaker, Kecmanovic was able to save a set point and it was a difficult pill to swallow for Sinner.

“The third set,” Sinner said, “was a very tough one to swallow.” “We will try to aim for a couple of improvements for the next match,” Sinner said.

Sinner will next take on Portugal’s Nuno Borges in the second round on Wednesday.