Roddick: Sinner’s Ugly Win Might Be Just What Doctor Ordered

Jannik Sinner had to battle to the brink to survive his Day 1 tussle with Miomir Kecmanovic at Wimbledon. Former Wimbledon finalist Andy Roddick thinks the victory – and its grueling nature – could be a blessing in disguise for the defending champion. 

It’s no secret that all eyes have been focused on Sinner’s biggest shortcoming at the majors: his inability to deal with the heat on a consistent basis, and his difficulties in long matches – especially five-setters. 

Roddick says that getting through a three hour and 30-minute battle with Kecmanovic that featured a scary fall and a bloody foot that became a focal point of ESPN’s cameras might have been exactly what Sinner needed after his shocking loss to Juan Manuel Cerundolo from two sets and 5-1 up during last month’s heat wave in Paris. 

“But if there was a time for a very gutsy, kind of ugly win for him, the timing of the narrative is pretty good,” Roddick said on his Served with Andy Roddick Podcast on Monday. 

The five-set matches at the Slam have not been Sinner’s domain. He improved to 7-12 in five-setters at the majors with his win over Kecmanovic. Monday marked his first win in a five setter at a slam since his 2024 Australian Open victory over Medvedev – he had lost five consecutive five-setters at the Slams prior to Monday. 

“There’s a little spring into the next round,” Roddick said. “I think him going five and surviving healthy… I think this is perfect for him moving forward in this tournament. I think he’s gonna be a different human in the [next round]. I think if there was ever a time for your foot to be bleeding through your shoe, to be falling down, to get through it on not a perfect day [this was it].” 

Sinner remains 0-9 in matches that have lasted longer than three hours and 50 minutes, but today’s triumph was a step in the right direction, says Roddick. 

The former World No.1 also points out that Sinner has done a great job dealing with media scrutiny after his loss in Paris, which snapped a 30-match winning run. 

“I have to give him credit, every question he gets is “heat, heat, heat, heat,” said Roddick. “On the interview desk after the match we asked about heat and he’s patient. He’s like ‘It’s an issue’. He says ‘I look forward to doing it again, it’s a challenge. He’s not frustrated ever. Try not losing your patience when someone asks you about a flaw 47 times a day.”