Author: Barkha Roy
Number one seed Carlos Alcaraz wasted no time in booking his place in the second round of Wimbledon on Tuesday, quickly beating Jeremy Chardy in what turned out to be the Frenchman’s last singles match. Playing under the roof of Court 1, the young Spaniard showed off his powerful groundstrokes, dominating 36-year-old Chardy and winning a convincing 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory in just under two hours.
After his defeat, Chardy said goodbye to his 18-year singles career on the Tour. Highlights of the Frenchman’s career include winning his only Tour trophy, in Stuttgart in 2009, and achieving the best ranking of his career, 25th place, in 2013. Now 36, Chardy has gone on to coach his fellow countryman Ugo Humbert and boasts an impressive record of seven doubles titles on the Tour.
Meanwhile, Andy Murray made a triumphant start to his Wimbledon 2023 campaign, treating the Centre Court crowd to a masterclass on the grass on Tuesday afternoon. The beloved British player showed his exceptional skills on the baseline and displayed remarkable agility on grass as he comfortably defeated fellow Brit Ryan Peniston with a resounding 6-3, 6-0, 6-1 victory that lasted two hours.
Following Murray’s example, British world number one Cameron Norrie also advanced to the second round after a tough battle against qualifier Tomas Machac. Despite losing the second set, Norrie recovered on court one, converting seven of his 21 break points to secure a deserved two-hour and 32-minute victory with a final score of 6-3, 4-6, 6-1, 6-4.
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/PMCCYXSADBOJJHXSFXBSBZESCU.jpg)
On Centre Court, Daniel Evans faced an uphill battle as he tried to recover from a two-set deficit in his first round match against Quentin Halys. Despite winning a tightly contested third set, which excited the home crowd, Evans was unable to recover as Halys eventually emerged victorious with a score of 6-2, 6-3, 6-7(5), 6-4. Meanwhile, Argentina’s 29th seed Tomas Martin Etcheverry fought back to claim his first Wimbledon main draw win, beating Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles in a hard-fought five-set battle: 6-7(5), 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 7-5. His next challenge will be against three-time champion Stan Wawrinka.
In the women’s singles event, on a cold and rainy Tuesday, sixth seed Ons Jabeur from Tunisia wasted no time in dispatching Magdalena Frech with a comfortable 6-3, 6-3 win under the roof of Court No. 1. Second seed Aryna Sabalenka also made a dominant return to Wimbledon, beating Hungary’s Panna Udvardy convincingly 6-3, 6-1. The 2021 semi-finalist showed her prowess on the grass court, needing just 61 minutes to book her place in the second round. Unfortunately, due to persistent rain, only three women’s singles matches were completed on Day 2 at the All England Club.