Carlos Alcaraz of Spain returns a shot during the men's singles first round match against Jeremy Chardy of France at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
LONDON, July 4 (Xinhua) -- No. 1 seed Carlos Alcaraz began his Wimbledon journey on a rainy Tuesday. However, thanks to the roof over No. 1 Court, his opening-round match proceeded unhindered as the Spaniard smoothly dispatched France's Jeremy Chardy 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.
36-year-old Chardy announced earlier that Wimbledon would be his final singles tournament, meaning that this would be the final singles match of his career.
During a tense third set, Alcaraz remained composed, even as Chardy rallied from an early break to take a 4-2 lead. Undeterred, the world No. 1 managed to regain control, breaking back in the subsequent game and holding steady in the next to level the set at 4-4.
"I'm really happy with the level that I play, with the performance today. It is something that I [am] going to take to next round," Alcaraz said.
The 20-year-old, fresh off securing his first grass-court title at Queens last week, demonstrated his growing confidence on the surface. He broke again in the 12th game to finalize the set, concluding a 59-minute tussle and securing his victory in one hour and 53 minutes.
In his third stint at the All England Club, the 2022 US Open champion is eager to surpass his personal best - a fourth-round appearance recorded last season. Next, Alcaraz faces the winner of an all-French showdown between Alexandre Muller and Arthur Rinderknech.
"To win the tournament. That's the main goal right now for me. I have a lot of confidence right now," Alcaraz added.
Home favorite Andy Murray maintained his perfect record in the first round at the grass-court Grand Slam as the two-time champion defeated fellow Briton Ryan Peniston 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 to set up a clash with either Greece's fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas or 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem.
In the women's division, defending champion Elena Rybakina rebounded from a set down to defeat the United States' Shelby Rogers 4-6, 6-1, 6-2 in the day's opening match on Centre Court. The world No. 3 capitalized on four of her eight break opportunities, all coming in the final two sets, while Rogers only managed to break once in the first set.
"I think I didn't start that well. I was not moving that great. Straightaway was a break from the first game. So, of course, after that it's difficult. I was not that reactive on the return also," said Rybakina, who also joked that the reason why she was "nervous" maybe that Roger Federer was watching the match from the Royal Box.
"I really like Roger, when I was younger, I was always watching him play," the third seed added.
Rogers, who is ranked No. 49, is known as an upset specialist, boasting seven wins over top-10 opponents. Three of them came at Grand Slams, including over Ash Barty in the first round of the 2021 US Open when the Australian was world No. 1.
Rybakina well understood the danger, too, having been beaten by Rogers in their last match, on the grass courts of 's-Hertogenbosch, in 2022.
Up next for Rybakina is the winner of the match between Nao Hibino of Japan and French veteran Alize Cornet.
Later, Ons Jabeur, runner-up to Rybakina at last year's tournament, beat Poland's Magdalena Frech 6-3, 6-3.
Despite having struggled with a calf injury for much of the season, the sixth-seeded Tunisian was never really troubled by 70th-ranked Frech and even hit some signature trick shots to entertain the crowd.
"I think it was a good start for me. I obviously love starting on Court 1. It's amazing. I feel lucky that I played on Court 1, especially today," Jabeur said, implying that the day's bad weather had forced most matches to be postponed to Wednesday.
Among them was Chinese Grand Slam debutant Bai Zhuoxuan, who was leading Belgium's Ysaline Bonaventure by 7-6(0), 4-0, when the raindrops fell down.
20-year-old qualifier Bai had played mostly in ITF events with only one Tour-level appearance since 2020 before coming to Wimbledon.
In another match played on Centre Court, second seed and reigning Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka beat Hungary's Panna Udvardy 6-3, 6-1 to advance. ■
Jeremy Chardy of France reacts during the men's singles first round match against Carlos Alcaraz of Spain at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain returns a shot during the men's singles first round match against Jeremy Chardy of France at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
Carlos Alcaraz of Spain serves during the men's singles first round match against Jeremy Chardy of France at Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London, Britain, July 4, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
