Alcaraz starts Wimbledon defence against Fognini

Observer

2 days ago

LONDON: Carlos Alcaraz will start his Wimbledon defence against Fabio Fognini while world number one Jannik Sinner faces a potential semi-final clash against Novak Djokovic following Friday's draw.
On the women's side, reigning champion Barbora Krejcikova will begin her campaign against rising star Alexandra Eala on Centre Court if she can recover from injury.
Spain's Alcaraz, who has beaten Djokovic in the past two finals at the All England Club, returns to Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, on a career-best 18-match winning streak.
He is aiming to become just the fifth man to win at least three straight Wimbledon titles in the Open Era after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger Federer and Djokovic.
The Spaniard, 22, has a 2-0 head-to-head record against Italian Fognini, who is 38.
Sinner's pursuit of a maiden Wimbledon crown could hinge on a heavyweight semi-final clash with seven-time champion Djokovic.
The Italian, who lost to Alcaraz in the recent French Open final, opens against compatriot Luca Nardi at the grass-court major.
Djokovic, competing at his lowest seeding (sixth) since 2018, will begin his campaign for a record-tying eighth Wimbledon men's title against Frenchman Alexandre Muller.
The Serb, who has been in every final since 2018, is seeded for a quarter-final meeting with British fourth seed Jack Draper, who meets Argentina's Sebastian Baez in the first round.
Djokovic is aiming to win a record 25th Grand Slam, which would take him clear of his tie with the long-retired Margaret Court, and has the added incentive of matching Roger Federer's record tally of Wimbledon men's titles.
World number three Alexander Zverev, who starts against France's Arthur Rinderknech, is seeded to meet Taylor Fritz in the quarter-finals.
Fifth-seeded American Fritz faces big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard from France.
- Krejcikova injury woes -
Krejcikova missed the first five months of 2025 with a back injury and was forced to withdraw from this week's Eastbourne quarter-finals due to a thigh injury.
Her first-round opponent, Eala, a 20-year-old from the Philippines, is ranked a lowly 74.
But Eala captured the tennis world's attention in March by defeating three Grand Slam champions — Jelena Ostapenko, Madison Keys and Iga Swiatek — to reach the Miami semi-finals.
Top seed Aryna Sabalenka, hoping to progress beyond the semi-finals at Wimbledon for the first time, opens against fast-rising Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine.
The Belarusian has won three Grand Slams but lost in the Australian Open final and the French Open final this year.
Her potential third-round opponents include 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova, Nottingham winner McCartney Kessler and 2021 US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Home favourite Raducanu takes on British qualifier Mingge Xu in the first round.
Second seed Coco Gauff, who beat Sabalenka at Roland Garros, starts against Nottingham finalist Dayana Yastremska.
Potentially intriguing second-round matchups include third seed Jessica Pegula against Queen's champion and 2022 Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria.
Former French Open champion Ostapenko could play two-time Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur in round two, while Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen may face former world number one Naomi Osaka at the same stage.
Five-time Grand Slam winner Iga Swiatek faces a potential fourth-round clash against former champion Elena Rybakina and a quarter-final with Gauff, having dropped to eighth in the rankings.
— AFP