Defending champion Alcaraz labors to opening round win at Wimbledon

Canada Standard

9 hours ago

LONDON, July 1 (Xinhua) -- Men's singles defending champion Carlos Alcaraz was dragged into a five-set marathon battle by Italy's Fabio Fognini, as the Spaniard needed four hours and 37 minutes to progress from the first round at Wimbledon 7-5, 6-7(5) 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 here on Monday.
Alcaraz, 22, struggled on his serve under the scorching sun, while 38-year-old Fognini, who was making his final Wimbledon appearance, showed great resilience and net skills.
The world No. 2 was forced to play until the deciding set before extending his winning streak to 19 matches. The two-time defending champion will face British wildcard Oliver Tarvet in the second round.
"I knew at the beginning that it was going to be really difficult playing against Fabio," said Alcaraz who defended his French Open title earlier this month. "The talent that Fabio has is immense. In every match he can show his best tennis. I think today he has shown one of his best tennis."
Eighth seed Holger Rune of Denmark and ninth seed Daniil Medvedev were both knocked out of the first round.
Rune lost to Nicolas Jarry of Chile 4-6, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, while Medvedev was defeated by France's Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(2), 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-2.
This is the first ever opening round exit for Medvedev at the grass-court Grand Slam.
"I felt him playing very well. I felt like I didn't play too bad. I don't see much I could do better. I mean, it's grass, so I could serve better on the tiebreak," said the 29-year-old former US Open champion.
In the women's singles, top seed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus saw off Canada's Carson Branstine 6-1, 7-5 to set up a second round clash with Marie Bouzkova of the Czech Republic.
Sabalenka admitted she met some challenges from her opponent as she could hardly read her serve.
"I think the goal is to win as quickly, as easier as possible, so physically you're more fresh in the next rounds. But I think it was really good for me to have this little fight in the second set just to see where my level is and if I'm mentally ready to fight," said Sabalenka, who withdrew from Wimbledon last year due to a shoulder injury.
But Sabalenka's close friend Paula Badosa failed to reach the second round as the ninth seed from Spain was beaten by local favorite Katie Boulter 6-2, 3-6, 6-4.
Chinese veteran Zhang Shuai, who entered the main draw by winning three qualifying matches, lost to Serbia's Olga Danilovic 6-2, 6-4. Zhang's compatriot Yuan Yue also exited after being defeated by Eva Lys of Germany, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2.