Preview: Wimbledon: Jannik Sinner vs. Miomir Kecmanovic - prediction, form, head-to-head

Defending Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner returns to Centre Court on Monday for the first time since last year's title win when he takes on Miomir Kecmanovic.

The world No. 1 has not played since his shock second-round exit at the French Open, and the favourite at SW19 aims to avoid coming unstuck against his Serbian opponent in his first competitive match on the grass in almost a year.

Match preview

Sinner was the undisputed favourite heading into the French Open, but the Italian star's bid for a Career Grand Slam suffered an unforeseen setback in the second round when his body broke down against Juan Manuel Cerundolo.

Sinner was up two sets and served for the match at 5-1, only to win just two more games for the rest of the match in a disappointing exit in Paris, where he was backed to win after a clean sweep of the leading Masters 1000 events on the surface.

Seeking to move past that setback, the current king of Centre Court returns to the venue of last year's victory over two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz, aiming to avoid a first-round exit at the Championships for the first time since 2021.

Having notably not competed in Halle or any of the lead-up tournaments to the third Grand Slam of 2026, it will be interesting to gauge the top seed's form ahead of his first match.

Nevertheless, a player who has reached the quarter-finals at least of the past four years in London is the clear favourite to progress, provided nothing goes wrong on Monday.

Kecmanovic will look to test any signs of rustiness in the world No 1 as he attempts to end a losing streak against the leading player on the men's tour.

Although currently outside the top 50, the Serbian is a former top-30 player and once a finalist at a grass court tournament, albeit six years ago at the Antalya Open.

Nonetheless, the 26-year-old has some momentum on the surface this year, reaching the quarter-finals in Mallorca last week before falling to Fabian Marozsan.

Notably, wins over Antoine Ghibaudo and Lorenzo Sonego marked the first consecutive victories at ATP level for the Serbian since February, highlighting his struggle for momentum on tour.

Therefore, the world No 51 can draw encouragement from his recent last-eight run in the Spain-based event when he faces Sinner in Monday's opener.

Holding an 8-6 career record at SW19, where he has avoided first-round exits in five of six appearances, Kecmanovic faces a tough challenge to avoid a second opening-round loss at the Championships.

Head To Head

Wimbledon (2024) - Third round: Sinner 6-1 6-4 6-2

Cincinnati Masters (2022) - Round of 32: Sinner 7-5 3-1 ret.

Adelaide (2021) - Quarter-final: Sinner 7-6(10) 6-4

Next Gen ATP Finals (2019) - Semi-final: Sinner 2-4 4-1 4-2 4-2

Sinner leads Kecmanovic 4-0 on the ATP Tour ahead of their meeting at Wimbledon on Monday.

The matchup will be their second at the Championships, where Sinner lost just seven games on his way to a straight-sets victory in the third round of 2024.

Previous tour-level encounters were more evenly contested, although they took place in 2021 and 2022 when the top seed was not even a top 10 player.

We say: Sinner to win in three sets

While there is a risk of rustiness after a few weeks without action, Sinner certainly needed the rest following a gruelling European clay swing.

Facing an opponent who is 0-7 against top-10 players at Slams, the Italian No 1 is expected to avoid a shock loss to Kecmanovic unless he experiences a recurrence of his intermittent physical issues.