Carlos Alcaraz made it through the hottest opening day in Wimbledon history, but the Spaniard wasn’t quite at his fiery best as he kicked off his pursuit of a third consecutive title with a major scare against Fabio Fognini at the All England Club on Monday.
With the temperature hitting 32 degrees Celsius, Alcaraz took over four hours to defeat the experienced Fognini, securing a victory of 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1. The final set was paused when a spectator fell ill due to the heat and needed help.
Top women’s seed Aryna Sabalenka, aiming for her first Wimbledon title, faced no issues as she easily defeated Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine with a score of 6-1 7-5. However, last year’s finalist and fourth seed, Jasmine Paolini, had a tough match against Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova, ultimately winning 2-6 6-3 6-2.
Although five-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz, who secured the Queen’s Club title leading up to this, is still in the game, a bunch of big-name players have left the men’s draw.
No other court at Wimbledon heats up like the bowl-shaped Court Two, and it was obvious that the conditions didn’t suit former world number one Daniil Medvedev. The ninth seed had his dreams dashed by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi, who took the match 7-6(2) 3-6 7-6(3) 6-2.
Only two defending men’s champions have ever been knocked out in the first round at Wimbledon, yet there were times when Alcaraz seemed at risk of joining his fellow countryman Manuel Santana on that brief list as Fognini brought back memories of his prime.
Alcaraz came to Wimbledon riding an 18-match winning streak, which featured an incredible victory in the French Open final against Jannik Sinner. However, the magic was absent on Monday in front of a Centre Court audience that included David Beckham.
Heat is something Alcaraz is used to, but it was Fognini who thrived in the sunshine. When he broke serve twice to tie the match at two sets each, it seemed like a huge upset could happen.
However, Alcaraz, who frequently used an ice towel to keep cool, kicked it up a notch in the final set and even won over the crowd by giving his water bottle to a fan who looked like they needed it.
He then led the crowd in giving a warm round of applause for Fognini, a former top 10 player, as this marked his last Wimbledon appearance.
“I really can’t believe this is Fognini’s last Wimbledon because, honestly, with the level he’s been playing, he could easily keep going for another three or four years. It’s just incredible,” Alcaraz commented about Fognini.
Next on Alcaraz’s agenda is British qualifier Oliver Tarvet, who made a fantastic Grand Slam main draw debut by defeating fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi from Switzerland with a score of 6-4 6-4 6-4.
Tarvet is among 23 British players in the singles draw, which is the highest number since 1984. Leading the home charge was Sonay Kartal, who pulled off an upset against 20th seed and former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko with a score of 7-5 2-6 6-2. She was joined in the second round by British number one Emma Raducanu, who smoothly navigated a challenging match against Mingge Xu, one of three British teenage wild cards competing on Monday. She got back to her workout as she entered round two.
The 27-year-old from Minsk missed out on last year’s event due to a shoulder injury and came this time ready to show what she’s got after losing in the finals of both the Australian and French Opens this year.
Several other women contenders shone brightly in the sun, especially 13th seeded American Amanda Anisimova, who handed Yulia Putintseva a brutal ‘double-bagel’ defeat with scores of 6-0 6-0.
Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina defeated Anna Boindar in straight sets, while 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova continued her comeback by eliminating American 30th seed McCartney Kessler, setting up a second-round match against Raducanu.
Madison Keys, the Australian Open champion and sixth seed, fought hard for two hours and 41 minutes to overcome Romania’s Elena Ruse, downplaying the heat’s effect.
“I find it amusing coming from the States, because this is basically just a regular summer day here”, she commented.
Unfortunately, it was a disappointing end for Tunisia’s two time runner up Ons Jabeur, who had to retire from her first round match against Viktoriya Tomova due to illness.
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