Carlos Alcaraz Excels As Djokovic Faces “Duel Of Veterans” At Wimbledon

On a star-studded Centre Court program on Friday, Carlos Alcaraz advanced towards a potential Wimbledon championship matchup with Novak Djokovic as Andy Murray picked up his hard-hitting contest with Stefanos Tsitsipas.

In his Wimbledon debut, France’s 84th-ranked Alexandre Muller was upset by world number one Alcaraz 6-4, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3.

“This was my second match on Center Court. I lost here last year, so I’m happy to win on this beautiful court.”

Carlos Alcaraz

The Spaniard, who played his second-round encounter a day later than expected owing to the heavy rain earlier in the week, will be concerned even though he made 41 unforced mistakes.

The second-ranked player in the world, Djokovic, finished off his second-round commitments on Wednesday. He is attempting to win his record-tying eighth Wimbledon and 24th Grand Slam trophy.

For a spot in the round of 16, the 36-year-old must defeat three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka, who is two years older than the Serb. 

“It’s the duel of the veterans.”

Novak Djokovic

During their 17-year rivalry, the two have faced off 26 times. Only six of the matches were victories for Wawrinka, but significantly, two came in the Grand Slam finals at the 2015 French Open and the US Open one year later.

They will compete on grass for the first time on Friday.

‘No rhythm –

“I will enjoy it if I don’t get killed.”

The Swiss said

Due to local curfew laws, Thursday night’s match between fifth-ranked Tsitsipas and two-time winner Murray was called off just before it reached the third round.

Murray dropped the opening set but stormed back to take the lead at 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (7/2), and 6-4.

Murray’s ban on Thursday came just in time since he looked to have damaged his groin, But the world’s forty-first-ranked player got back up and continued serving.

On Saturday, the winner will be announced by Laslo Djere of Serbia. After falling, he screamed in agony as he served for the third set.

The third-seeded male player, Daniil Medvedev, returned to face Adrian Mannarino, a Frenchman who had previously defeated him at Wimbledon in the second round.

The unpredictable Russian promptly sealed victory in a third set tie-break after being two sets and 4-4 up when play was suspended on day four.

With a straight-sets victory against Australian 15th seed Alex de Minaur, unseeded dangerman Matteo Berrettini, Djokovic’s runner-up in 2021, advanced to 32.

Holger Rune, the sixth seed from Denmark, defeated Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 to get to the third round for the first time.

Varvara Gracheva, who had just changed her nationality from Russia to France, was defeated by women’s second seed Aryna Sabalenka 2-6, 7-5, 6-2 after falling behind a set.

Before the ban on Russian and Belarusian players last year, Sabalenka, a semifinalist at Wimbledon in 2021, made this statement. 

“I couldn’t find my rhythm in the first set.”

“I was telling myself to keep fighting, keep trying and you probably can win this one.”

Bianca Andreescu, a former US Open winner, defeated Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina 6-2, 4-6, 7-6 (10/7), returning from a set and a half down.

Avenging her loss to the Belarusian in the first round of 2018, two-time champion Petra Kvitova easily defeated Aliaksandra Sasnovich (6-2, 6-2).

When Paula Badosa withdrew from their second-round match due to a recurrence of a back ailment, Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine advanced to the round of 32 for the first time.

On Court 18, Kostyuk led her Spanish opponent 6-2, 1-0, after 36 minutes of play. The mixed doubles match that Badosa and her boyfriend, Tsitsipas, were scheduled to play was immediately canceled.

Next up for the 21-year-old Kostyuk is American Madison Keys, a quarterfinalist in 2015. Russia’s Daria Kasatkina was defeated by two-time semifinalist Victoria Azarenka, who advanced to the round of 16.

The current US Open and French Open winner, top seed Swiatek, will play Croatia’s seasoned Petra Martic in the fourth round. 

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