Wimbledon gets underway on Monday, when the defending champion — this time Jannik Sinner — takes his traditional opening spot on Centre Court. Sinner is facing Miomir Kecmanovic, while Joao Fonseca is going up against Roberto Bautista Agut.
Roberto Bautista Agut vs. (24) Joao Fonseca
It will be a tale of two players at opposite ends of the career spectrum when Fonseca and Bautista Agut square for the first time in their careers in round one of Wimbledon on Monday. Fonseca is 19 years old; Bautista Agut is 38. The veteran Spaniard is retiring at the end of this season and finds himself all the way down at 163rd in the rankings, but he cannot be entirely discounted — not on grass. Bautista Agut is 63-35 lifetime on the this surface and made a run to the Wimbledon semifinals in 2019. He has reached the fourth round in SW19 on four other occasions.
It is a much different story for Fonseca, whose career could not be on a more positive trajectory but at the moment features very little grass-court experience. The 19-year-old Brazilian is a mere 5-8 all time on the green stuff. Fortunately for Fonseca, he is healthy and in fine form at the moment. The world No. 27 upset Novak Djokovic en route to the French Open quarterfinals and the good vibes continued with a doubles runner-up effort (partnering Daniel Altmaier) in Halle. Bautista Agut’s grass-court skills could pose an early test, but Fonseca should eventually pull away for a mostly routine victory.
Pick: Fonseca in 4
(1) Jannik Sinner vs. Miomir Kecmanovic
With Carlos Alcaraz sidelined by a wrist injury, Sinner controls the destiny of pretty much every tournament he enters right now. The top-ranked Italian has won all five Masters 1000 events in 2026 but his second-round exit from Roland Garros completely altered the course of the season’s second Grand Slam. Alexander Zverev ultimately took home the title without beating a single top-10 opponent. Less than a month later, Sinner hopes to restore order at Wimbledon. The 24-year-old is well rested, won’t have to deal with the same kind of heat in London as he did in Paris, and can take additional confidence from being the defending champion.
Up first for Sinner on Monday is a fifth meeting with Kecmanovic, who has lost all four of their previous encounters. Their most recent showdown came at none other than the All-England Club, where Sinner cruised through a third-round contest 6-1, 6-4, 6-2. As the No. 51 player in the world, Kecmanovic certainly isn’t one of the easier first-round opponents. At the same time, the 26-year-old Serb does not bring the kind of firepower to the table that can seriously trouble any of the best players in the game. Simply being solid is not enough to challenge Sinner — assuming the No. 1 seed is back to being his normal self.
Pick: Sinner in 3