Top seed Carlos Alcaraz advances to second round at Wimbledon after overtaking Jeremy Chardy
Post Date – 10:37 PM, Tuesday – July 4th
London: Top seed Carlos Alcaraz advanced to the second round at Wimbledon after overtaking Jeremy Chardy here on Tuesday. Chardy is playing his final singles match.
Under the roof of Court 1, the Spaniard beat the 36-year-old Frenchman with a devastating bottom kick to seal the victory 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in one hour and 53 minutes. “I thought I played really well from the start,” Alcaraz said in an interview on the court.
“In the third set he found his level. I was in trouble, but I like to play rally, I like to fight, and I’m happy to play at a good level. We were both in the third set. Very Close, but I’m really happy to get through the first round,” he added.
After shaking his leg, Alcaraz bounced quickly, and from there the traffic became one-way traffic, with Chardy unable to deal with the Spaniard’s pace off the ground. The Frenchman showed signs of nervousness with seven double faults in the first set, but played more freely as the match wore on, breaking Alcaraz in the third to take a 4-2 lead .
However, the 36-year-old was unable to withstand any serious pressure against Alcaraz in their first ATP head-to-head meeting, with the top seeds knocking out five of their next six to advance.
Alcaraz, who is 41-4 on the season, next faces either Arthur Rinderknech or Alexandre Muller. The 20-year-old came into SW19 in strong form after lifting his first Tour grass-court title at Queen’s Club last month.
This is his third Wimbledon, having advanced to the fourth round last year. If Alcaraz captures his sixth tour title of the season at the tournament, he will retain his No. 1 spot in the ATP Rankings.
On the other hand, Chardy’s 18-year legendary tour singles career also ended in defeat. The Frenchman lifted his only Tour-level trophy in Stuttgart in 2009 and reached a career-best 25th in 2013.
The 36-year-old, who now coaches compatriot Hugo Humbert, has also won seven doubles titles at the tour level. The Frenchman had a special moment against Alcaraz as he won the first game of the tournament 6-0, 1-2 to a standing ovation from the crowd. Chady’s wife Susan and son Stone also cheered for Chady.
