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Will Wimbledon rivals exploit 'chink' in Jannik Sinner's armour as champion battles through five-set thriller against Miomir Kecmanovic?

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Jannik Sinner was put through his paces in his first competitive match since succumbing to the Parisian heat back in May. The Wimbledon champion needed five sets to dispatch Miomir Kecmanovic, prompting theories about Sinner's potential Achilles heel.

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Despite eventually triumphing 4-6 6-3 6(6)-7 6-2 6-3, the world No. 1 was visibly hurt throughout as blood seeped through one of his white trainers, evidence of a toenail injury sustained in the third set.

Fighting back from one set behind twice, the 24-year-old assuaged all doubts in the decider, a feat surprisingly rare for the four-time Grand Slam champion.

Before the first-round clash on Centre Court, Sinner had won just six of 18 previous contests that went the distance.

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And former British women's No. 1 Johanna Konta believes that his opponents at Wimbledon will take heart from both his five-set record and his recent struggles in the heat, having crashed out of the French Open in part due to the sweltering conditions.

"I think more than anything, it'll be an interesting psychology of how the other players now come up against him in these conditions, because you've got to think that the locker room might be shifting slightly," Konta told TNT Sports.

"A lot of these really great, dominant players win a lot of matches before they even step onto the court, purely from the aura they present.

"And there is a little bit of a [chink] in his armour when it comes to playing and performing in these high temperatures and I think the players will feed off that.

"So I think players will come out with more belief, and so it'll be interesting to see how he deals with that coupled together."

Sinner was forced to retire in a second-round shock at the French Open, admitting he felt "weak" and "dizzy" playing Juan Manuel Cerundolo with the mercury climbing above 30 degrees Celsius.

Since that premature denouement in the French capital, the Italian has played just once, beating Brit Cam Norrie 6-3 6-3 in an exhibition match at the Hurlingham Club five days prior to his first Wimbledon test.

Konta said: "What we saw at the French Open was something very dramatic. I think everyone took a few days to really recover, just in the broadcasting team, and I think the crowds and players in general, from what we witnessed there.

"I think after that, there will definitely be a lag. I think you could see that lag a little bit in his level on court, so it was really encouraging to see him work through the difficulties of that match, because there were plenty, and to see him come out the other side."

Sinner played down the severity of the injury he sustained against Kecmanovic, refusing to say whether it hampered his performance.

"No, I'm good, it seems much worse than it is," said Sinner in his on-court interview.

"I'm surprised they allowed me to keep playing, as all-white turned into a little red. I didn't want to disturb the rhythm. It is just a nail. I didn't want to take any time, so it's all good."

Sinner, who also slipped badly on the grass, added in his press conference: "One fall is a tough one because you can get injured. But it is the most normal thing. Grass courts are like this. Especially the first couple of matches when the grass is very new, you slip a little bit more.

"Yeah, I got lucky there because things can go wrong very, very quickly."

But with temperatures in London set to climb above 30 degrees next week, slippery grass and a broken nail may be the least of Sinner's worries.

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