Alcaraz, Sinner and Gauff open Wimbledon campaigns in style

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz has known for the past 50 weeks exactly when he would step out onto Centre Court to defend his Wimbledon title. The Spaniard held back his goose bumps on Monday to secure his place in the second round.

While injuries have plagued many of the players who have won the Challenge Cup in recent years – with question marks surrounding the participation of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray – Alcaraz showed he was in top condition despite a less than ideal build-up to the major grass-court tournament.

The third-seeded player, who admitted he even gets nervous practicing on the spiritual home of grass tennis, defeated 21-year-old Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal 7-6(3) 7-5 6-2 on an overcast day in south-west London.

“When I step onto this court, it’s the most beautiful court I’ve ever played on. I still get nervous when I play here,” said Alcaraz, whose Queen’s Club title defense last month ended with an early exit, courtside.

“I played 45 minutes here on Thursday and it’s the first time I’m nervous about practicing. I’m happy and I’m a privileged man to play on this pitch.

“When I walk around I get goosebumps. I remember last year and that was an amazing feeling.”

World number one and top seed Jannik Sinner suffered an injury midway through the match after a slip and was briefly troubled by Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann. He eventually won 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3 and faced an exciting match against 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini.

“That will be a big challenge for me,” Sinner said.

SEEDS SIDE-ORIENTED

On the opening day of the grass tournament, several seeded players had to withdraw due to injury or illness. The most notable was third-seeded Aryna Sabalenka, who was unable to take the court due to a shoulder injury.

Her compatriot and two-time Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka also had to withdraw from her match against Sloane Stephens, winner of the 2017 US Open, due to a shoulder injury.

Sabalenka’s withdrawal removed a major hurdle for second-seeded Coco Gauff, who closed out Monday’s Center Court match with an impressive 6-1 6-2 victory over compatriot Caroline Dolehide.

Former world No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka returned to Wimbledon after a five-year absence, beating Frenchwoman Diane Parry 6-1 1-6 6-4 in a thrilling match.

Fans flocking to the All England Club on Tuesday will be hoping that seven-time champion Djokovic and Andy Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon champion in 2013 when he won the first of two titles, are both fit enough to attend their Centre Court appearance.

While second-seeded Djokovic underwent knee surgery last month, Murray is still recovering from back surgery he underwent a few days ago. And with this tournament expected to be his Wimbledon swansong, he is desperately hoping that he can write the end of his own script with one last blistering run on the court.

Casper Ruud, who twice finished runner-up at Roland Garros, was also happy to be back on court after being struck by a parasitic infection last month and being confined to bed for almost two weeks following his participation in the semi-finals of Roland Garros.

Ruud equalled his best result at the championship after reaching the second round by beating Australian qualifier Alex Bolt 7-6(2) 6-4 6-4.

Fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev, defeated in the semi-finals by Alcaraz last year, convincingly won 6-3 6-4 6-2 against American Aleksandar Kovacevic.

Grigor Dimitrov, seeded 10th in the men’s event, continued his rise with a 6-3 6-4 7-5 victory over Dusan Lajovic, while three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka, the oldest man in the tournament at 39, turned back the clock with a 6-3 7-5 6-4 victory over British wildcard player Charles Broom.

Britain’s Emma Raducanu, who shot to fame by winning the 2021 US Open as a qualifier but has struggled to reach such heights since due to injuries, was watched from the royal box on Centre Court by England football idol David Beckham and ultimately delivered an encouraging victory.

Wildcard Raducanu, 21, missed Wimbledon last year due to injury but opened her tournament with a fierce 7-6(0) 6-3 victory over Mexico’s Renata Zarazua.

Zarazua replaced 22nd-seeded Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova at the last minute, who withdrew due to illness.