02/07/2025

SPORTS WEDNESDAY | JULY 2, 2025 29 Alcaraz survives early scare Wimbledon’s main showcourt aura leaves world No. 2 a nervous wreck C ARLOS ALCARAZ arrived at Wimbledon on the back of 18 straight match victories but the defending champion said after avoiding the opening-round trapdoor on Alcaraz told reporters. “Wimbledon is different. It doesn’t matter, the winning streak I have right now, that I’ve b e e n grass, that I have been preparing really well the week before. “I could feel today I was really nervous in the beginning. Being the first match on Centre Court, it’s a huge privilege for me even though I played last year the first match. “If he’s here, he’s in the second round, it’s because he deserves it. He’s playing a great tennis,” Alcaraz added.

TRAMLINES

Keys keeps eye on the ball AMERICAN Madison Keys did not let an ailing opponent, underarm serve or the furnace-like conditions on Wimbledon’s Court 2 distract her from notching up a 6-7(4), 7-5, 7-5 win over Elena-Gabriela Ruse in the first round of Wimbledon yesterday. Keys’ hopes of extending her perfect 10-0 first-round record at the All England Club appeared to be in jeopardy when her Romanian rival bagged the first set with some sizzling shots from the baseline. However, despite wrapping ice towels around her neck during the changeovers, the intense heat appeared to get to Ruse in the second set. Keys will next face Serbia’s Olga Danilovic. “Really tough match, she played really well, obviously she was suffering a few issues as it was quite toasty out here,” Keys said courtside. “My serve got me through that match. Definitely a lot of crazy things happening. Once you have one or two of those things happen, you just assume that there’s going to be lots of them.” Cool Fonseca BRAZIL’S Joao Fonseca displayed an ice-cool temperament to overcome a partisan crowd and a couple of rocky moments in his confident 6-4, 6-1, 7 6(5) win over Briton Jacob Fearnley yesterday. “In summer, Rio is very, very hot. I’m more used (to it) than European people,” the 18-year-old said. The world No. 54, who has been rocketing up the rankings over the last year, said he was very nervous on his Wimbledon main-draw debut but it did not show. “I think my serves helped me a lot with the nerves today. I served really well,”he said.“So very happy with the way I could manage the important points doing good serves and increasing the level.” Raducanu, Kartal off to flying start THE biggest home assault on Wimbledon for 41 years got off to a great start yesterday when Sonay Kartal and Oliver Tarvet claimed upset wins and Emma Raducanu triumphed in an all-British clash. Raducanu was the main attraction, although home loyalties were somewhat split as she faced 17-year old Welsh wildcard Mimi Xu, making her Grand Slam debut. Xu had not beaten a top 50 player and never looked likely to break that duck on Number One court as she went down 6-3, 6-3. Kartal got the day off to a flier by beating ex-French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. “I was happy to be first up,” Kartal said. “I guess the other (British) guys that are coming out can maybe get a bit of motivation from my win.”

“I don’t have to think like I’m going to win easily. I have to have respect for him. Playing or trying to play my best, step on the court thinking that if I don’t play my best, I can lose. “I’ve seen him play, and he has a good level. Even though he’s not playing professionally or he has played just his first tour level match, it doesn’t matter. “I have to think that it’s going to be a really tough match. It’s going to be a difficult one I have to be ready for, and I’m trying to play my best without thinking about the ranking and anything else.” Next up for Alcaraz is British qualifier Oliver Tarvet who marked his Grand Slam main draw debut with a superb 6-4 6-4 6-4 defeat of fellow qualifier Leandro Riedi of Switzerland. Tarvet is one of 23 British players in the singles draw, the most since 1984. – Reuters

playing great on

Monday that playing on Centre Court again left him feeling like a nervous rookie. The Spaniard, who should have been brimming with confidence after capturing titles in Rome, the French Open and Queen’s Club Championships in the lead-up to the grasscourt Grand

“I try to deal with the nerves the best way possible. I was struggling a little bit … But it was great. It’s a big honour to start the tournament there in Centre Court.” Alcaraz next

meets Oliver Tarvet in what should be a much more straightforward test considering the British qualifier is ranked in the 700s, but after a jolt to his system on a blazing day, the 22-year-old is not taking anyone lightly.

Slam, edged Fabio Fognini 7-5, 6-7(5), 7 5, 2-6, 6-1 in 4½ hours. Alcaraz had demolished 24-time

Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and collected his second Wimbledon crown on his last trip to Centre Court but he looked out of sorts against an inspired Fognini. “It felt like it was the first time,” five-time Grand Slam champion

Carlos Alcaraz in action during his first round match against Italy’s Fabio Fognini yesterday. – REUTERSPIC

Osaka overcomes spirited Gibson, Paolini through to next round FOUR-TIME Grand Slam winner Naomi

form on a surface she admits does not bring out the best in her game. “I know the grass season hasn’t been particularly amazing for me this year, but I’m really happy with how much I fight every match. No matter what or no matter how I think I play, I feel like the mentality is pretty solid.” Wimbledon fourth seed and 2024 runner-up Jasmine Paolini came from a set down to beat Latvia’s Anastasija Sevastova 2-6, 6-3, 6-2 yesterday, sealing a place in the second round. The 5-foot-4-inch pocket rocket, who had not won a main draw match on grass before her surge to the Wimbledon final last year, looked a bit rusty in the early evening sunshine on Court 2 against Sevastova, who is making her first Wimbledon appearance since 2021 after maternity leave and injury. – Reuters medical timeout, with staff attending to her before taking her off court for 14 minutes. “I wasn’t expecting not to feel good. I have been practising pretty well the last few days,” said Jabeur, who did not specify the reason for her withdrawal. “I’m pretty sad. It really doesn’t really help with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do.” Elsewhere, former French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko was beaten 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 by Britain’s Sonay Kartal. – AFP

Osaka had to fight back in both sets against the Aussie. Yet after a second-round loss last year, the threat of another early exit was seemingly enough for the Japanese player to find extra gears when it mattered most. “I think just making my match today, playing someone that I’ve never played before, and also getting over the first-round nerves was a little tricky,” she told reporters. “I’m glad that I did it, and I hope that I have many more matches to come.” Osaka will need to show more of that battling spirit if she is to find some in the second set just to see where my level is at.” Two-time Wimbledon finalist Ons Jabeur broke down in tears before retiring from her first-round match against Viktoriya Tomova. Tunisia’s Jabeur was trailing 7-6 (7-5), 2-0 when she brought a premature end to her clash with the Bulgarian world No. 111. The 30-year-old, beaten in the 2022 and 2023 Wimbledon finals, looked uncomfortable throughout the match. The world No. 59 wiped away tears after losing a long fifth game in the first set and took a lengthy

Osaka (pic) overcame some first-round jitters to survive a scrap with Australian qualifier Talia Gibson and advance at Wimbledon with a battling 6-4, 7-6(4) first-round win yesterday. Osaka may have no great love for Wimbledon’s lawns, having never got past the third round at the grasscourt major, but she had enough quality and fight to subdue a spirited Gibson. With the evening shadow spilling across Court 18 to take the sting out of what had been a ferociously hot day, former world No. 1

Sabalenka cruises on Wimbledon’s hottest opening day

ARYNA SABALENKA kept her cool to cruise into the Wimbledon second round on the hottest opening day in the history of the championships. The BBC said temperatures at the All England Club had reached 31.4°C, surpassing the previous record for the start of the tournament of 29.3°C set in 2001. Top seed Sabalenka used ice packs to beat the heat during her 6-1, 7-5 victory over Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine on sweltering Court One. The 27-year-old Belarusian is a three-time

Grand Slam champion but suffered agonising three-set defeats in this year’s Australian Open and French Open finals. Sabalenka has never been beyond the Wimbledon semifinals and missed last year’s tournament with a shoulder injury. “I felt really great. Super grateful to be healthy and ready to compete and to be through the first round,” said the world No. 1, who next faces New Zealand’s Lulu Sun or Czech player Marie Bouzkova. “It was really good for me to have this little fight