Alcaraz, Sabalenka power into Wimbledon third round

RTHK

2 days ago

Alcaraz, Sabalenka power into Wimbledon third round
Alcaraz dispatched his 733rd-ranked opponent in just over two hours. Photo: Reuters
Carlos Alcaraz spoiled Oliver Tarvet's Wimbledon adventure as the defending champion moved into the third round with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 win over the British amateur after Aryna Sabalenka stemmed the tide of shock exits.
A record-breaking number of seeds crashed out at the All England Club in the first round, but Alcaraz and women's world number one Sabalenka avoided seismic shocks on Centre Court.
Second-seeded Alcaraz needed two hours and 17 minutes to subdue world number 733 Tarvet, who produced flashes of his emerging talent to delight the partisan crowd.
"First of all I have to give big praise to Oliver. In his second match on the tour, I just loved his game to be honest," Alcaraz said. "I knew I had to play my best tennis. I was really happy with my performance but big praise to him as well."
Alcaraz has won his past 20 matches since losing to Holger Rune in the Barcelona final in April, a blistering streak that has brought him titles at the Rome Masters, the French Open and Queen's Club.
The 22-year-old Spaniard, who fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner on clay in an epic final at Roland Garros last month, has won 31 of his 34 Tour-level matches on grass.
His last defeat at Wimbledon came against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.
Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons.
The world number two hopes to become the fifth man in the Open Era to win at least three consecutive Wimbledon titles after seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer and Pete Sampras.
In stark contrast to Alcaraz's fame and fortune, the unheralded Tarvet is just starting his tennis career and cannot even collect all of his Wimbledon prize money.
As a student of the University of San Diego, the 21-year-old has to maintain amateur status and will have to give up most of his earnings.
While Alcaraz is a five-time Grand Slam champion, Tarvet was playing just his second major main draw match after coming through three qualifiers and beating Leandro Riedi in the opening round.
Sabalenka had opened proceedings on Centre Court on Wednesday, out-duelling 48th-ranked Marie Bouzkova 7-6 (7/4), 6-4 in a heavy-hitting contest.
The Belarusian, who suffered painful defeats in the finals of both the Australian Open and the French Open this year, lashed an impressive 41 winners in a match lasting one hour and 35 minutes.
It meant she avoided the fate of several top stars including second seed Coco Gauff, third seed Jessica Pegula and fifth seed Zheng Qinwen, who crashed out in the first round. (AFP)