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Alcaraz sees off spirited Lajal to reach Wimbledon second round

The 21-year-old is bidding to add a fourth Grand Slam trophy to his cabinet after his maiden French Open triumph last month

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Spain's Carlos Alcaraz hits a return against Estonia's Mark Lajal. — AFP

By Reuters

Published: Mon 1 Jul 2024, 8:06 PM

Third seed Carlos Alcaraz endured an early test in his Wimbledon title defence but the Spaniard quelled the challenge of Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal 7-6(3) 7-5 6-2 and moved into the second round on Monday.

The 21-year-old, bidding to add a fourth Grand Slam trophy to his cabinet after his maiden French Open triumph last month, dropped serve midway through a high-quality opening set before battling back to clinch it in a tiebreak.

Lajal broke Alcaraz again early in the next set but the dreadlocked world number 269 was unable to make the advantage count and his opponent broke back to love immediately before pouncing again in the 11th game.

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With the momentum having swung, Alcaraz continued to reel off the points for a two-set lead and raised his game further in the third to break with a superb backhand crosscourt winner and he never looked back from there to close out the victory.

"He played a good match, obviously surprised me a little bit because I didn't have the chance to see him play a lot. He has a great level, he's really young, my age," Alcaraz said.

"I'm sure I will play against him even more on the tour and I'm really happy to get my first win on Centre Court this year."

Alcaraz said he still felt a touch jittery at the venue where he beat Novak Djokovic in the final 12 months ago.

"Stepping on this court, it's the most beautiful court I've played on. I still get nerves when I'm playing here," he added.

"I played for 45 minutes here on Thursday and it's the first time I get nervous practising. I'm glad and I'm a privileged guy to play on this court.

"... This is a new year, a different tournament, I have to be focused on my game. When I walk around, I get goosebumps. I remember last year and that was a great feeling."

Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev strode confidently and cheerfully into the Wimbledon second round on Monday with an assured 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over American Aleksandar Kovacevic on his favourite Court One.

The lofty 28-year-old Russian, beaten in the semifinals last year by eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz, took one hour 46 minutes to dispose of the 88th-ranked New Yorker, who could not cope with his booming serve and whipped forehand.

Meanwhile, third seed Aryna Sabalenka and 16th seed Victoria Azarenka pulled out of Wimbledon shortly before their opening matches on Monday due to shoulder injuries, organisers said, leaving the women's draw short of a pair of Grand Slam champions.

Sabalenka, who was set to face American Emina Bektas, was replaced in the draw by Russian Erika Andreeva, while fellow Belarusian Azarenka's spot was taken up by another lucky loser in Frenchwoman Elsa Jacquemot.

"I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating," Sabalenka said on Instagram.

"I pushed myself to the limit in practice today to try my best, but my team explained that playing would only make things much worse," she added.

"This tournament means so much to me and I promise I'll be back stronger than ever next year."

Sabalenka, who suffered a lower back injury this year and struggled with illness at the French Open during her quarter-final loss to 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva, sustained the issue during last month's Berlin Open.

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Reuters

Published: Mon 1 Jul 2024, 8:06 PM

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