Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz overcame an uneven first set to defeat Aleksandar Vukic of Australia 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2 and advance to the third spherical at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
The victory prolonged the Spaniard’s successful streak on the grass courts of London to 9.
Failing to advance was No. 8 seed Casper Ruud of Norway, who was defeated by Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-4, 7-5, 6-7 (1), 6-3. He turned the second top-10 seed to fall, following a four-set loss by No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev of Russia to Francisco Comesana of Argentina on Tuesday.
Alcaraz, the third seed, was cruising with a 5-2 lead within the first set Wednesday earlier than Vukic rattled off 4 straight wins to take a 6-5 lead. Serving for the set, Vukic managed to put up just one level as Alcaraz broke his serve, then went on to win the first-set tiebreaker.
“I’m actually pleased about my efficiency,” Alcaraz stated. “I believe the primary set was the important thing. He served for the set and I broke and after I performed a extremely good tiebreak. I performed a extremely excessive stage within the second and third units, so I’m actually pleased about it.”
Alcaraz, winner of three Grand Slams, wanted one hour, 48 minutes to defeat the Australian. Alcaraz struck 11 aces amongst his 42 winners and had 15 unforced errors, in comparison with Vukic’s 19 and 22, respectively.
Subsequent up for Alcaraz will probably be Frances Tiafoe, the No. 29 seed, who defeated Borna Coric 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3 of Croatia. Alcaraz defeated the American in 5 units within the semifinals on the U.S. Open in 2022.
“We performed a superb match on the U.S. Open,” Alcaraz stated of Tiafoe. “I do know he’s a extremely gifted participant and it is going to be robust on right here on grass. Good serve, good volley. It will likely be a tough match for me however I’m prepared for that problem.”
Additionally shifting into the third spherical was No. 5 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia, who rallied to oust Alexandre Muller of France 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5.
No. 16 seed Ugo Humbert of France and No. 21 Karen Khachanov of Russia additionally superior to the third spherical, as did unseeded American Brandon Nakashima.
World No. 1 Jannik Sinner of Italy was scheduled to play later Wednesday.
–Area Stage Media
