Alcaraz advances with easy win; Jabeur opens campaign with win over French

LONDON: Top seed Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the second round of the Wimbledon after soaring past Jeremy Chardy, who was competing in his final singles match, here on Tuesday.

Under the roof on Court 1, the Spaniard overpowered the 36-year-old Frenchman with his destructive groundstrokes, sealing a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory in one hour and 53 minutes.

"I think I played really well at the beginning of the match," said Alcaraz in his on-court interview.

"In the third set, he found his level. I was in trouble, but I like to play rallies, I like to play battles, and I’m really happy to have played at a great level. Both of us are in the third set. It was really close, but I’m really happy to get through this first round," he added.

Last year's finalist Ons Jabeur started her campaign in the 2023 Wimbledon championship on a winning note, getting the better of business-like straight sets win over Polish World No.70 Magdalena Frech.

The 28-year-old Tunisian, who last year became the first female player from the Arab world to reach the final at Wimbledon, started with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Frech.

This year, Jabeur the No.6 seed from Tunisia, is hoping to use that experience of reaching the final to go all the way in the grass-court major. On Tuesday, she took the first step in that journey.

Meanwhile, defending champion Elena Rybakina eased to victory after a slow start in the ladies' singles competition on Tuesday. Rybakina lost the first set against Shelby Rogers but bounced back to win the opening match on Centre Court on Ladies' Day.

The defending champion began with a double fault on the way to losing the opening set 6-4. But the No.3 seed stormed back to win the second set 6-1 and was never seriously troubled as she took the third 6-2.

Playing under the roof of the No.1 Court, the No.6 seed Jabeur's all-court slice and dice game was on display and she seemed in little danger from the 25-year-old Frech, who recorded her best Grand Slam result at Wimbledon last year, reaching the third round.

Jabeur's 89 per cent of first-serve points and 25 winners compared to Frech's 55 per cent and four winners offer a snapshot of a player who means business here in SW19.

Jabeur will next meet either Belgian world No.91 Ysaline Bonaventure or Chinese qualifier Zhuoxuan Bai.

In men’s section, Andy Murray beat Ryan Peniston 6-3, 6-0, 6-1, 8th seed Jannik Sinner beat Juan Manuel Cerundolo 6-2, 6-2, 6-2 to reach the second round.

Most of the matches of the day have been suspended due to bad weather.

Moreover, there was no fairytale for five-time champion Venus Williams, the 43-year-old American who made her debut at the tournament in 1997.

Williams, playing the singles event for the 24th time, was defeated 6-4, 6-3 by fellow wild card Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, a semi-finalist in 2019.

Williams took a nasty tumble early in the first set on Centre Court, hurting her right knee, which was already heavily strapped.

She required two visits by the trainer before her challenge fizzled out under the weight of 33 unforced errors. Agencies

Also Read: Novak Djokovic , Swiatek cruise into second round

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