WIMBLEDON, 4 Jul: In only his third Wimbledon tournament, Carlos Alcaraz is already one of the main men to beat.
\nThe top-seeded Spaniard hasn\u2019t been past the fourth round at the All England Club, but he has become the primary threat in Novak Djokovic\u2019s quest for a record-equaling eighth men\u2019s title at the grass-court Grand Slam.
\nOn Tuesday, Alcaraz beat Jeremy Chardy 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 on No. 1 Court \u2014 a fitting location for the No. 1 player in the world.
\nThe match was played under the roof because rain affected play on the outside courts for the second straight day.
\n\u201cObviously without the roof, with sun, is much better for me. I think for everyone as well,\u201d Alcaraz said on court. \u201cWith the roof or not, I have to show my best level.\u201d
\nHis best led Alcaraz to his first major title at the U.S. Open last year. He reached the semifinals at this year\u2019s French Open, but Djokovic ended up winning that match en route to his 23rd Grand Slam title.
\nAt Wimbledon, Alcaraz reached the second round in 2021, playing as a wild card. He made the fourth round last year and entered this year\u2019s tournament after winning the grass-court title at Queen\u2019s Club.
\nThe 36-year-old Chardy, who was playing at Wimbledon for the 14th time and at his 56th major overall, planned to retire from the sport after this year\u2019s tournament.
\nKate, the Princess of Wales, was at a rainy Wimbledon on Tuesday and sat in the Royal Box at Centre Court next to Roger Federer, an eight-time champion who has retired from the sport. Federer was feted before play began.
\nMatches began on most courts shortly after 11 a.m. at the All England Club, but the tarps came out as the rain came down about an hour later.
\nRain is forecast for much of the day Tuesday in southwest London.
\nElena Rybakina opened play on Centre Court play against American opponent Shelby Rogers \u2014 the traditional spot for the defending women\u2019s champion. The defending men\u2019s champion, Djokovic, had the honor of starting play in the main stadium on Day 1.
\nRybakina, who withdrew from the Eastbourne International last week citing a virus illness, improved her serve after the first set and beat Rogers 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.
\n\u201cI\u2019m feeling much better,\u201d she said on court. \u201cIt was a bit unlucky for me. It was not easy to get again to the fitness and physical condition, but now I\u2019m much better. Hopefully this win gives me more confidence for the next round.\u201d
\nRybakina had also pulled out of the French Open because of an illness and said she was \u201cpretty nervous\u201d at the start of Tuesday\u2019s match.
\nSixth-seeded Ons Jabeur, who lost to Rybakina in last year\u2019s final, advanced with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Magdalena Frech.
\nDjokovic\u2019s match was delayed by rain Monday, and he even helped dry the court before play resumed. The seven-time champion ended up beating Pedro Cachin 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (4). (AP)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WIMBLEDON, 4 Jul: In only his third Wimbledon tournament, Carlos Alcaraz is already one of the main men to beat. The top-seeded Spaniard hasn\u2019t been past the fourth round at the All England Club, but he has become the primary threat in Novak Djokovic\u2019s quest for a record-equaling eighth men\u2019s title at the grass-court Grand […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-219717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=219717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/219717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=219717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=219717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arunachaltimes.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=219717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}