Jannik Sinner suffers nasty fall as Wimbledon umpire rushes to help

Jannik Sinner suffered a horror fall in a heart-stopping moment during the third set of his Wimbledon first-round match with Miomir Kecmanovic.

The Italian world number one's legs completely gave way as he planted his feet after hitting a return. Travelling to his right, his footing went, leaving his knees in an awkward position as his legs split and he hit the deck.

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Sinner immediately winced as he went down before the umpire, Alison Hughes, rushed off her chair to check if he was alright. The 24-year-old looked to be in real discomfort as he lay still for a little while before sitting up and getting back to his feet.

Andrew Castle on BBC commentary said: "He looks like he's definitely going to need the trainer. We hope it's not as bad as it looked." The defending champion, however, appeared to shake off any injury concerns despite initially seeming to limp.

The scary incident occurred when the game was tied at two apiece in the fifth game of the second set, during the Serb's serve. Sinner refused to call for the trainer and somehow managed to win the next point, though he lost the game and appeared to be moving gingerly.

Normal service resumed afterwards as Sinner held on his serve to make it 3-3. After tying things up, Castle pointed out that he still didn't seem 100 per cent. "I hope he's okay here. He's not moving all that well," the BBC commentator said.

At 30-30 in the next game, there was more concern for Sinner as he lost his footing again, though he avoided a serious tumble. Tim Henman also suggested that he may have been bleeding through his shoe after spotting what he thought could be a 'severe blister'.

The fall was the last thing Sinner needed with Kecmanovic putting the Wimbledon champion under significant pressure. The world number 51 took advantage early on against a below-par Sinner, taking the first set 6-4.

Sinner hit back in the second, taking it 6-3, but Kecmanovic upped the ante again in the third and continued to benefit from an error-strewn performance from the Italian.

Henman pulled no punches as he assessed Sinner's performance during the third set on Monday. He said: "I think the first round of any tournament is difficult. There's been no middle ground from Sinner today, though. His quality play has been excellent, but when he's dropped off, there's been lots of unforced errors, which is why he finds himself in a bit of a predicament here.

"There have been nearly 40 unforced errors from Sinner, yeah, there's been plenty of winners, but it's been a little bit erratic."