Alcaraz, Sinner, Osaka win Wimbledon openers

Carlos Alcaraz defeated 269th-ranked qualifier Mark Lajal at the start of his Wimbledon title defense on Monday as Andy Murray decided whether or not to call a halt to his All England Club singles career.

As action got under way, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka was heading home after withdrawing from the tournament with a shoulder injury.

Alcaraz, still only 21, is chasing his fourth Grand Slam title and hopes to become just the sixth man after Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.

Opening the Centre Court program, the Spanish star recovered from a break down in each of the first two sets to see off the dreadlocked Lajal 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 6-2.

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

This time last year, Lajal was losing a first-round match at a second-tier Challenger event in the United States and earning a paltry $780 -- on Monday he banked $75,000.

Two-time Wimbledon semi-finalist Sabalenka, ranked third in the world, is one of eight players to have pulled out since the draw was made.

She had admitted she was not 100 percent fit after suffering a shoulder injury at the Berlin Open and has been replaced by Russian lucky loser Erika Andreeva.

"Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won't be able to play The Championships this year," wrote 26-year-old Sabalenka on X.

Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev reached the second round and admitted he was happy not to be playing on the All England Club's famed Centre Court.

Medvedev, a semifinalist last year, hit 16 aces in his 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Aleksandar Kovacevic of the United States.

"I've still never lost on Court One so hopefully I can play a lot more matches on this court," said Medvedev. "Last year I said it was unfortunate I had to go to Centre Court for the semis and I lost."

Eighth seed Casper Ruud, who has never been past the second round, saw off Alex Bolt of Australia in straight sets and revealed he had been laid low by a parasite since reaching the French Open semi-finals.

"I was mostly in bed for 10, 11 days, which was not what I was kind of hoping for," said the Norwegian.

Three-time Grand Slam title winner Stan Wawrinka won his Wimbledon opener at the age of 39, beating British wild card Charles Broom 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

"I think there is enough reason to keep playing. I don't want to go home," said Wawrinka, who made his debut at Wimbledon in 2005.

World No. 1 Jannik Sinner overcame a mid-match wobble to see off the challenge of Germany's Yannick Hanfmann in his opener but said he would have to raise his game.

The Italian won 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in just under three hours on No. 1 Court to set up a match against 2021 Wimbledon finalist and compatriot Matteo Berrettini.

"He played really well, he was serving well, I missed a couple of shots," said Sinner. "First-round matches are never easy and in the next round I have to raise my level. "I have a day off and then I need to get my rhythm."

Former world number one Naomi Osaka said it felt "like a dream" to claim her first win at Wimbledon since 2018 as she looked forward to celebrating the occasion with her daughter, who turns one on Tuesday.

Japanese star Osaka, a four-time Grand Slam winner, recovered from a break down in the final set to defeat Diane Parry of France 6-1, 1-6, 6-4 on the back of 34 winners.

"It feels like a dream because I haven't played here many times," said Osaka, whose last appearance at the All England Club was in 2019, when she exited in the first round.

"I hope it was fun for everyone to watch. I'm really excited to be here because Wimbledon was the first tournament I watched last year after my pregnancy."

Osaka said she was inspired to victory by casting a glance at her photographs from last year, when she gave birth to daughter Shai.

"I was looking at my photo album. Like, they have that feature 'this time last year'. I was looking at that. I was looking at photos of myself in the hospital.

"It's really cool to be here now. I think my mindset last year was just trying to survive. Honestly, I didn't really know what was going on after I gave birth. Yeah, just trying to piece myself back together."

Elsewhere, reigning U.S. Open champion Coco Gauff defeated Caroline Dolehide 6-1, 6-2, and 2021 U.S. Open winner Emma Raducanu beat Renata Zarazua 7-6 (0), 6-3.

© 2024 AFP