Bautista signed an important second victory and Badosa saw his match postponed due to rain
MADRID, 3 (EUROPA PRESS)
Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the third round of the Wimbledon tournament on Wednesday, the third ‘Grand Slam’ of the season that is being played on grass, after a solid victory against Australian Aleksandar Vukic, number 69 in the world, by 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 51 minutes of play.
Alcaraz got back on track after a crushing win over Vukic, who only put the Spaniard in trouble in the first set. The opposite happened in the second and third sets, in which the Murcian reached his highest level of play, having fun on the court with winning shots of all kinds (24) that reinforced his confidence for the duel against the American Frances Tiafoe this Friday.
Alcaraz’s numbers were particularly good with his serve, with which he won up to 11 direct points, 82 percent of points won with the first serve – he did not lose any in either the second or third set – and conceded only two double faults. In addition, the Spaniard was quite consistent in his game, committing only 15 unforced errors in the entire match.
The second match of the reigning champion started with an irregular Alcaraz, who was able to take the initiative with his serve during the first three sets and break the Australian’s serve twice, as well as giving up his own on two occasions. Thus, the Spanish tennis player had to face the most tense moment of the tournament so far, returning to send the first set to a tie-break. That’s when Alcaraz came out on top, breaking Vukic’s serve and subsequently taking the tie-break 7-5.
However, there was still a lot of room for improvement in the game of the tennis player from Murcia, especially in his percentage of points won with the first serve – 61 percent – and in the definition of points at the net, where he had only managed to win eight of the twelve played. Much better were his statistics in winning shots (18) and unforced errors (8).
Alcaraz started the second set in the best possible way: holding his serve and putting pressure on the Australian’s serve. A demand on Vukic that paid off in the third game of the set, when the Murcia native managed to break on his third break opportunity. A game that marked a turning point in Alcaraz’s tennis, which has since then been brilliant at times and, above all, more consistent.
The world number three then went on to win five games in a row in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead. He ended up winning the set 6-2 in just under 30 minutes, with some outstanding numbers — 83% of first serves, four aces, 100% of points won with first serve, 14 winners and only three unforced errors.
A very high level of play that Alcaraz continued in the third and final set of the match, in which he gave no chance to an overwhelmed and somewhat more erratic Vukic. Thus, the Murcia native again did not lose a point with his first serve and finished the set in half an hour of play by the same score of 6-2.
With this victory, Alcaraz confirms his growth in the game compared to his debut in the tournament, feeling much more comfortable on the court and improving the performances offered in the match against Estonian Mark Lajal. An aspect to take into account for the third round match, in which he will face a much more experienced and tough rival in Tiafoe, number 29 in the world, who has a 2-1 head to head advantage over the Spaniard.
VICTORIA BY BAUTISTA AND BADOSA CANNOT PLAY DUE TO THE RAIN
As for the Spanish representation, Roberto Bautista also recorded his second victory on the London grass by beating the Italian Lorenzo Sonego 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 and 6-4, which puts him up against another transalpine player like Fabio Fognini. The Castellón native, who has been going through a couple of seasons of decline in the rankings, had a good chance of turning things around at Wimbledon, the ‘major’ where he has his best result, the semi-finals in 2019.
Since January 2023 at the Australian Open, the Spaniard has not reached the third round of a Grand Slam and, with this victory, he is assured of returning to the Top 100 in the world, as well as giving himself the opportunity to get into a winning rhythm. Bautista’s duel was suspended due to rain, but was able to resume, which delayed and cancelled several matches of the day. Among them, Paula Badosa saw her second match in the English capital, against the Czech Brenda Fruhvirtova, postponed to Thursday.
2024-07-03 15:54:02
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