Wimbledon 2023: Carlos Alcaraz Opens Campaign With Dominant Win Over Jeremy Chardy – News18

Top-seeded Carlos Alcaraz started his pursuit of a maiden crown at the most prestigious tennis major, Wimbledon, with a thumping opening-round win over Jeremy Chardy of France in straight sets.

The Spaniard overpowered his hapless French opponent 6-0, 6-0, 7-5 to seal his progress into the second round of the All-English championships.

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The double bagle in the opening two sets of the fixture shows the gulf in class between the players as the 20-year-old overpowered his 36-year-old veteran, who couldn’t keep up with the world’s top-ranked player.

Day 2 of the grass-curt major also witnessed the appearance of British and sporting royalty as the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, an ardent patron of the AELTC graced the centre court with her esteemed presence, but the bigger ovation was reserved for the visit of SW19’s favourite son, Roger Federer.

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The Swiss maestro, who has clinched an unparalleled eight gentlemen’s singles title on the unforgiving grass surface was given a raucous welcome by the passionate crowd as he walked out to the Royal Box.

The thunderous applause continued for over a minute as the English crowd showed their appreciation for the legendary Swiss player who came to be associated in an intricate manner with the world’s oldest grand slam.

The 41-year-old, who hung up his boots last year has brought a smile to the face of people who have been lucky enough to witness the smooth operator in action. The thunderous forehands and elegance-personified single-handed backhands that the Swiss maestro rained down on his opponents will forever be a core memory of those who flocked to the quint London suburb of SW19.

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Defending champion Novak Djokovic, who has the chance to level Federer’s record at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club of eight titles if he manages to retain his Wimbledon crown this year, also opened his campaign with a win over Argentine Pedro Cachin on Monday.

The Serbian 36-year-old, who surpassed long-tie rival Rafael Nadal for the most number of grand slam titles with his 23rd major win at Roland Garrod last month, could also extend his tally to 24 grand slam titles with a successful defence of the coveted crown at SW19.