There were dominant performances from the favourites, thrilling five-set contests and a few surprise exits as the race for the coveted major got underway at the All England Club.

The headline act came on Centre Court, where defending men's champion and top seed Jannik Sinner was forced to dig deep before securing his place in the second round. The Italian was pushed all the way by Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in a gripping three-and-a-half-hour encounter.

Sinner dropped the opening set and later found himself under pressure again after losing a tense third-set tie-break. He also required medical treatment for a minor injury during the match, but showed tremendous composure to fight back and claim a 4-6, 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-2, 6-3 victory, underlining why he remains one of the favourites to lift the trophy.

Seven-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic also had to work for his opening-round win. China's Wu Yibing tested the Serbian throughout the contest before Djokovic eventually prevailed 6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to keep alive his bid for a record-equalling eighth Wimbledon title and an unprecedented 25th Grand Slam singles crown.

Third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime enjoyed a far more comfortable afternoon, advancing in straight sets to reinforce his status as one of the leading contenders following Carlos Alcaraz's withdrawal from the tournament before play began.

There were, however, a couple of significant upsets in the men's draw. Former Wimbledon finalist and 11th seed Casper Ruud crashed out after losing to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz, while 12th seed Andrey Rublev was beaten by fellow Russian Roman Safiullin in a marathon five-set contest.

In the women's competition, world number one Aryna Sabalenka made an emphatic start to her campaign with a convincing straight-sets victory over Serbian qualifier Teodora Kostovic. Sabalenka was in complete control throughout the match and rarely looked troubled on her way into the second round.

French Open champion Mirra Andreeva also progressed comfortably after defeating Poland's Magda Linette, while seventh seed Coco Gauff delivered one of the standout performances of the day with a clinical straight-sets win over Germany's Tamara Korpatsch.

Fourth seed Jessica Pegula and 11th seed Belinda Bencic also safely negotiated their opening-round matches, while former US Open champion Naomi Osaka marked her return to Wimbledon with an impressive straight-sets victory as she continues her search for a maiden title on the famous grass courts.

It was, however, a disappointing start for the home crowd. British hopes suffered a major setback before play even got underway, with Emma Raducanu withdrawing through injury and Jack Draper also pulling out ahead of his first-round match. To make matters worse for the local fans, the Johannesburg-born Cameron Norrie was stunned by American qualifier Michael Zheng, capping a difficult opening day for the British contingent.

Morgan Piek OFM Sport