LONDON — For the last 50 weeks, Carlos Alcaraz knew the exact date and time he would walk back on Centre Court to open the defence of his Wimbledon title and the Spaniard kept his goosebumps in check on Monday to book his place in the second round.
While injury woes have plagued many of the players who have also hoisted the Challenge Cup in recent years — with question marks over the participation of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — Mr. Alcaraz showed he was fighting fit despite a less than ideal build-up to the grasscourt major.
The third seed, who admitted he even gets nervous practising on the spiritual home of grasscourt tennis, beat fellow 21-year-old, Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal, 7-6(3) 7-5 6-2 on an overcast day in southwest London.
World number one and top seed Jannik Sinner suffered a mid-match injury scare after a slip and was briefly troubled by Germany’s Yannick Hanfmann before winning 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3 to set up a mouth-watering all-Italian clash against 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini.
The opening day of the grasscourt Grand Slam saw several seeds pull out with injuries or illness — the highest-profile being women’s third seed Aryna Sabalenka who could not take to court because of a shoulder injury.
Fellow Belarusian and twice Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka also pulled out with a shoulder problem ahead of her match with 2017 US Open winner Sloane Stephens.
Mr. Sabalenka’s withdrawal removed one mighty obstacle for second seed Coco Gauff who concluded Centre Court action on Monday with an impressive 6-1 6-2 defeat of fellow American Caroline Dolehide.
Former world number one and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka returned to Wimbledon after a five-year absence and came through a topsy-turvy clash against France’s Diane Parry, winning 6-1 1-6 6-4. — Reuters
