Carlos Alcaraz continues his title defence on Wednesday, facing off against Alexander Vukic for a spot in the third round at Wimbledon. The Australian does actually hold a 1-0 head-to-head lead in this matchup, beating a 17 year-old Alcaraz in the French Open qualifying rounds back in 2020.
Alcaraz hit 43 winners in his victory over Mark Lajal but was made to work by the Estonian, who showed enough promise to suggest a further breakthrough may come in years to come. “He surprised me a little bit because I had not seen him play too much,” Alcaraz said after the 7-6 7-5 6-2 win. “He is very young, he is my age. I am sure I am going to see him on the Tour and play him more often. I am really happy to get through and get my first win on Centre Court this year.”
Meanwhile, Vukic was one of three fifth set tiebreak winners on Day 1 of the tournament. He needed just under four hours to see off Sebastian Ofner, eventually defeating the Australian 6-7 6-4 6-4 3-6 7-6. He will be full of confidence here, having made the semi finals in Eastbourne as a lucky loser. He did lose in two tiebreak sets to Taylor Fritz but showed enough promise to suggest he could have been a danger here with a kinder draw.
A repeat of Alcaraz’s opening round feels like the most likely option here. He faces an opponent who can serve well enough to keep things tight but when questions are asked, he will find it difficult to outsmart the defending champion.
Prediction – Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets
