It started well enough. Though Aleksandar Vukic edged Jannik Sinner’s opening serve off his racquet edge as if it were one of Australia’s batters nicking off in Grenada, he then won the next point and, after a service game each, it was 1-1.

Then it got ugly.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Alex de Minaur progresses at Wimbledon.

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Making a Wimbledon Centre Court debut against the top-seeded world No.1 is something to tell the grandkids about, but 93-ranked Vukic may not want to go into too many details.

It took the Sydneysider two sets to get into the groove and by then giantkilling was off the agenda. He finished stoutly, saving five match points, but was ultimately defeated by Sinner’s 12th ace and succumbed 6-1 6-1 6-3 in exactly 100 minutes.

There were some solid serves from Vukic, but only three aces, and a deft volley or two, but for the first hour Sinner was operating on a different plane.

Vukic had hoped the top seed would not yet be moving easily on grass, but he slid around the court like a joyrider taking a corner. He had Vukic scurrying left and right with arrowed drives and every so often, quite often in fact, would unleash a forehand of such explosive power and accuracy it brought gasps from the crowd.

“Game Sinner” said the chair umpire, again and again as Sinner reeled off eight on the spin, 1-1 had become 6-1 2-0. When Vukic finally broke the spell the applause was loud, and sympathetic.

Even the AI line-judges seemed to be favouring the Italian. His close calls were just in, Vukic’s just out, but you felt the frequent close calls were because Sinner was going for the paint while Vukic was going for broke.

Vukic tried to vary his game, but it was as if Sinner could read his mind as he anticipated drop shots, passing shots, most shots.

The second set went the way of the first but in the third Vukic stayed with the reigning US and Australian Open champion to 3-3. Then Sinner, having held for 4-3, broke him and, bar Vukic’s final display of defiance, it was all over.

Blinkers on for Demon after comforting fiancee Katie

Alex de Minaur has revealed the difficulty of having to blank out the disappointment of his fiancee being knocked out of Wimbledon as he focused to keep his own title ambitions afloat at the grass-court grand slam.

British star Katie Boulter bowed out, surprisingly beaten by Argentine lucky loser Solana Sierra, on Wednesday on the eve of de Minaur’s own second-round match, which, after an absent-minded start, he won in four sets against French qualifier Arthur Cazaux.

The exit of the high-profile Boulter was a headline tale in the British sports - and news - pages where her relationship with de Minaur as the most celebrated couple in tennis often features too.

After the loss, she told reporters gloomily: “Sometimes I just have to accept that my moment might not come.”

De Minaur, who attended her match on Wednesday, was left to try to console his 28-year-old other half, to whom he got engaged just before Christmas.

“There’s no real rule book that you can go on, but it’s not ideal, it’s not nice,” said the sympathetic 26-year-old Sydneysider.

“I felt for Katie yesterday, and I’ve been in those positions myself. It’s not easy by any means to forget about it. It’s something that kind of stays with you.

“On my side, there’s obviously the part of doing my best to comfort her and try to be there for her, the same way she is there for me through the good stuff and the bad stuff.

“It definitely does have a little bit of impact on yourself, and you’ve got to do your best to try and have a mental reset and kind of shift your focus towards yourself, realising you do have a match the following day that you’ve got to prepare for.

“It’s not going to be an easy one, it’s going to be a battle. So, it’s a lot of different aspects to deal with, which aren’t easy. I think I can get better at it, but that’s experience.”

De Minaur has become much more of a favourite with the British crowds since the pair became an item.

“I’ve felt an amazing shift of support the last three or four years, and spending a lot more time here in the UK, it’s been quite special,” said de Minaur, calling Wimbledon his “second home slam” after getting a rousing reception following his 4-6 6-2 6-4 6-0 win.

“It feels like I’m growing roots here. All the way from spending some time together, being at home with Katie, knowing the location a lot better, it definitely gives you an overall better feeling as you go into this tournament.”

- With Ian Chadband