05 July,2023 08:32 AM IST | London | AFP
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz returns to Jeremy Chardy of France on Day Two of Wimbledon in London yesterday. Pic/Getty Images
Top seed Carlos Alcaraz made a flying start to his Wimbledon campaign on Tuesday as defending women's champion Elena Rybakina recovered from a set down to reach the second round. On a soggy day at the All England Club, most of the action took place on the covered Court One and Centre Court.
The sport's new golden boy Alcaraz raced through the first set against French veteran Jeremy Chardy in just 22 minutes before breaking twice in the second set.
Chardy, who had previously announced that Wimbledon would be the final tournament of his career, drew first blood in the third set to lead 4-2 but Alcaraz hit back strongly, sealing a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win with an ace. "I like to play battles and I am really happy to have played a great level, both of us, in the third set," said the superstar Spaniard. "I am really happy to get through this first round."
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The US Open champion is seen as one of the few credible threats to Novak Djokovic, who is targeting an eighth Wimbledon crown to equal Federer's men's record.
The Kazakh third seed was caught cold in the opening set, double-faulting on her first point on the way to losing her first service game to unseeded American Shelby Rogers but she rallied strongly to win 4-6, 6-1, 6-2. "It was really tough for me today," said Rybakina. "I was pretty nervous, and I can't even hide it. The double fault said it all at the beginning of the match. I'm really pleased to get to another round."
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