London - Saba:
Spanish star Carlos Alcaraz began his campaign to defend his Wimbledon title—the third of tennis’ four Grand Slam tournaments, with a total prize pool of 53.5 million euros—with a hard-fought victory over Italy’s Fabio Fognini.
The Spanish "Matador" faced significant difficulty in securing the first and third sets, winning both narrowly at 7-5. Fognini, however, managed to claim the second set in a tense tiebreak and dominated the fourth set 6-2. Alcaraz ultimately sealed the decisive fifth set with ease, 6-1, in a match that lasted four hours and 26 minutes on Monday.
Veteran Fabio Fognini (38 years old) played his final match on Wimbledon’s grass courts, leaving the arena to a warm ovation from the crowd and the Spanish star.
Carlos Alcaraz (22 years old) now advances to the second round, where he will face Britain’s Oliver Taravet, ranked 733rd in the world. Taravet defeated Switzerland’s Leandro Riedl (ranked 503rd) in straight sets: 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, in their match also held on Monday.
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