- Carlos Alcaraz, the defending Wimbledon champion, began his title defense with a straight-sets victory over Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal on Centre Court.
- The 21-year-old Spaniard, seeded third this year, beat Lajal 7-6 (3) 7-5 6-2 in two hours and 22 minutes.
- Lajal, also 21, was making his Grand Slam main draw debut and had never won a qualifying match before this tournament.
- Despite the straight-sets win, Alcaraz faced a scare from the qualifier, who was playing in his first Wimbledon main draw.
Newsypeople- Carlos Alcaraz, the current Wimbledon title holder, faced a tough challenge from 21-year-old Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal in the opening match of the 2024 tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz, who is ranked third this year, secured a victory over Lajal in three sets, winning 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-2 in a match that lasted two hours and 22 minutes on Centre Court.
Despite being ranked 266 places lower than Alcaraz at world No. 269, Mark Lajal made his Wimbledon debut and had never won a Grand Slam qualifying match or main draw match until last week.
Although Lajal managed to break Alcaraz’s serve in the opening set and claim a set, Alcaraz quickly regained control by breaking back and dominating the rest of the match.
Alcaraz expressed his surprise at Lajal’s performance, highlighting his happiness at securing his first win on Centre Court this year.
The 21-year-old Spaniard is aiming to clinch his fourth Grand Slam title and hopes to join an elite group of players who have won the French Open and Wimbledon consecutively.
Alcaraz recently added the French Open title to his Wimbledon and US Open victories. Alcaraz’s triumph coincided with Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, seeded third, pulling out of Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury.
Sabalenka acknowledged her lack of fitness following the injury sustained in Berlin. Other notable outcomes on the first day of the tournament included Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, a previous semi-finalist, advancing to the second round with a straight sets victory, and Norwegian eighth seed Casper Ruud, who has not progressed past the second round at Wimbledon before, also moving forward in straight sets.
See the news below…
Title defence has begun 💪
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) July 1, 2024
Reigning champ @carlosalcaraz gets his 2024 #Wimbledon campaign underway with a 7-6 7-5 6-2 win over Lajal@wimbledon pic.twitter.com/DuxTTFf3Xn
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