Sports
CARLOS Alcaraz opened his Wimbledon title defence with a hard-fought victory over Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal.
The Spaniard won 7-6 (7-3) 7-5 6-2 to begin proceedings on Centre Court.
Alcaraz is attempting to win back-to-back major titles after triumphing at the French Open last month.
“Stepping on this court, it is the most beautiful court I have played on,” said the 21-year-old. “I still get nerves when I play here.
“I practised for 45 minutes on Thursday and it was the first time I was nervous on practice because I was playing on this court.”
Lajal, 21, battled hard on his first appearance in the main draw of a Grand Slam.
“Honestly it surprised me a little bit because I haven’t seen him playing or practising too much,” added Alcaraz.
“He has the level to go up a lot. He is really young, the same age as me, and I am sure I am going to see him more often.”
Alcaraz will face Aleksandar Vukic in the second round after the Australian overcame Sebastian Ofner of Austria in a five-set thriller.
Meanwhile top seed Jannik Sinner found a way past German Yannick Hanfmann, winning 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-3 on Court One and played partly under the roof.
Hanfmann made life difficult for the world number one, but Sinner, who won the Australian Open in January, came through within three hours.
Sinner will now play compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
BBCSport
A.I
July 02, 2024 @ 04:26 GMT|
Tags: Carlos Alcaraz Jannik Sinner
