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Carlos Alcaraz faces tricky opener in Wimbledon title defence

Carlos Alcaraz faces tricky opener in Wimbledon title defence

The National3 days ago

Carlos Alcaraz will start his Wimbledon defence against the dangerous Fabio Fognini while world number one Jannik Sinner faces a potential semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic following Friday's draw.
On the women's side, reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova starts her campaign against 2025 breakout star Alexandra Eala.
Spain's Alcaraz has beaten Djokovic in the past two finals and arrives at the All England Club on a career-best 18-match winning streak.
He is aiming to become just the fifth man to win at least three straight Wimbledon titles in the Open Era after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic.
The 22-year-old Spaniard has a 2-0 head-to-head record against Italian veteran Fognini.
Alcaraz, who warmed up for Wimbledon by winning the Queen's Club title, will be wary of the threat posed by the enigmatic Fognini although the 38-year-old Italian is not the force he was when he reached ninth in the rankings in 2019.
Sinner is aiming for a maiden Wimbledon crown but his hopes will hinge on a possible semi-final clash with seven-time champion Djokovic.
The Italian opens against compatriot Luca Nardi at the grass-court major while Djokovic, competing at his lowest seeding (sixth) since 2018, will begin his attempt at a record-tying eighth Wimbledon men's title against Frenchman Alexandre Muller.
Djokovic, who has been in every final since 2018, is seeded for a quarter-final meeting with British fourth seed Jack Draper, who starts against Argentina's Sebastian Baez.
Meanwhile, Krejcikova missed the first five months of 2025 with a back injury and was forced to withdraw from this week's Eastbourne quarter-finals due to a thigh injury.
Filipino emerging star Eala, 20, captured the tennis world's attention in March by defeating three Grand Slam champions - Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek - en route to the Miami semi-finals.
Britain's women's number one Emma Raducanu faces a potential first-round banana skin against compatriot Mingge Xu, one of three British teenaged wildcards in the women's draw.
Should 2021 US Open champion Raducanu win that she could play 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova or 32nd seed McCartney Kessler in the second round.
One potential standout second round match could feature Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, seeded five, against Japan's four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka, hoping to progress beyond the semi-finals for the first time, opens against fast-rising Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine.
Second seed Coco Gauff, who beat Sabalenka in the French Open final earlier this month, starts against Nottingham finalist Dayana Yastremska.
The Championships start on Monday and finish on July 13.
Wimbledon embraces technology
Wimbledon will be gearing up for the start of a new era following the All England Club's decision to look beyond line judges in favour of technology.
Live Electronic Line Calling (ELC) is set to take over from impeccably-attired line judges when action begins at the grasscourt major on Monday.
The tournament's once-robust pool of around 300 line judges has been cut to 80 and they will serve as "match assistants", who support chair umpires and step in should the ELC - powered by more than 450 cameras - fail in any of the 18 courts in use.
The Association of British Tennis Officials (ABTO) said the new position, which will be adopted at events that use live ELC, provided a fresh avenue for its officials with strong interest expressed in the role.
The body noted that although line judges will no longer be used at Wimbledon or ATP tournaments, there were still opportunities for them at other levels including at many WTA events and ITF World Tennis Tour tournaments.

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