Wimbledon—London, England
Defending Champion Alcaraz Advances at Wimbledon
Defending Wimbledon men’s winner Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the second round of the event on Monday, defeating World No. 269 Mark Lajal 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-1.
Needing two hours and 22 minutes to prevail, Alcaraz slammed three aces, won 83 percent of his first serve points and broke his Estonian opponent on five occasions.
Playing far from his best in his opening match, Alcaraz will next face Aleksandar Vukic or Sebastian Ofner for a place in the third round.
Alcaraz recently won his third Major title at the French Open in Paris last month. The Spaniard is currently ranked No. 4 in the world.
Matteo Berrettini, a finalist at Wimbledon in 2021, defeated former quarterfinalist Marton Fucsovics 7-6(3), 6-2, 3-6, 6-1.
Elsewhere, No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev, No. 8 seed Casper Ruud, No. 10 seed Grigor Dimitrov, and No. 32 seed Zhizhen Zhang all advanced to the round of 64.
No. 19 seed Nicolas Jarry was ousted by former semifinalist Denis Shapovalov 6-1, 7-5, 6-4.
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Australian Open Winner Sabalenka Withdraws
Two-time Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka was forced to withdraw from the Championships on Monday, citing a persistent shoulder injury.
Heartbroken to have to tell you all that I won’t be able to play The Championships this year. I tried everything to get myself ready but unfortunately my shoulder is not cooperating. This tournament means so much to me and I promise I’ll be back stronger than ever next year. ??
— Sabalenka Aryna (@SabalenkaA) July 1, 2024
Sabalenka, who has already opted not to play in the Paris Olympics, will next be in action at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.
The Belarusian’s withdrawal leaves a wide open bottom half of the draw. Qualifier Erika Andreeva will take the No. 3 seed’s place in the tournament.
Women’s results on the day included No. 9 seed Maria Sakkari, No. 14 seed Daria Kasatkina, No. 18 seed Marta Kostyuk, No. 25 seed Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and No. Dayana Yastremska all prevailing.
Tuesday’s action at Wimbledon feature seven-time former winner Novak Djokovic and five-time Major winner Iga Swiatek.
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