Wimbledon day one recap: Alcaraz survives scare while Rune and Medvedev go out

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz made heavy weather of his opening match at Wimbledon, needing five sets to see off Italian veteran Fabio Fognini on a baking Centre Court.

The second seed eventually came through a marathon encounter 7-5 6-7 (5) 7-5 2-6 6-1 in an energy-sapping four hours and 37 minutes.

Only two defending men’s champions had ever lost in the first round at Wimbledon, but there were moments when Alcaraz looked in danger of joining compatriot Manuel Santana on that shortlist as Fognini rolled back the years.

Alcaraz arrived at Wimbledon on an 18-match winning streak, which included a spellbinding French Open final win over Jannik Sinner. But the spark was missing on Monday in front of a Centre Court crowd that included David Beckham.

Heat is second nature to Alcaraz, but it was Fognini who flourished in the sun and when he broke serve twice to level the match at two sets apiece a massive shock looked possible.

But Alcaraz, regularly using an ice towel to cool down, found an extra gear in the decider and even charmed the crowd by offering his water bottle to the distressed fan.

He then led the warm applause for former top-10 player Fognini, for whom this was his final Wimbledon.

“I don’t know why it’s his last Wimbledon because the level he has shown, you know, he can still play three or four more years. It’s unbelievable,” Alcaraz said of Fognini.

Eighth seed Holger Rune, ninth seed Daniil Medvedev, 24th seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and 32nd seed Matteo Berrettini all lost, while third seed Alexander Zverev and fifth seed Taylor Fritz are both in danger of also heading home early after their matches against Arthur Rinderknech and Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard respectively were halted by the curfew late on Monday night.

Today, double women’s singles champion Petra Kvitova will get her final Wimbledon under way on Court One as she faces American Emma Navarro.

The clash will mark the beginning of the Czech player’s last summer as a professional tennis player as retirement beckons following the US Open.

Kvitova was victorious in 2011 and 2014, but has her work cut out against the 10th seed who reached the quarter-final last year.