Carlos Alcaraz survived a very tricky opening set against Aleksandar Vukic, only to steamroll in three sets and advance at the 2024 Wimbledon Championships.
Alcaraz made a winning start at this year's Wimbledon despite not having the best preparation. He played in the Cinch Championships at the Queen's Club but lost to Jack Draper early at the ATP 500 tournament.
After winning a first-round match with some struggles but also some solid play, that solid play continued in the second round, but it wasn't a clean match, far from it.
Vukic is a tricky player with a really flat game that works well on grass. He also played a lot of grass tennis this year, which prepared him well for this match. Even so, the Spaniard played better at the start, taking a 5-2 lead in the opening set.
Vukic, though, wouldn't give up and kept pushing, which resulted in a very bizarre sequence that saw Alcaraz lose four games in a row. Not only did he lose the break, but he lost his serve once more to give Vukic a 6-5 lead and a chance to win the opening set.
The Australian missed out on the chance, and the first set had to be decided in a tie-break, which Alcaraz ended up winning 7-5. That was the crucial moment because, after that, the World No. 3 player was able to comfortably outplay the Australian in the second set, winning it 6-2.
Vukic didn't really fall off dramatically in that second set; it's just that Alcaraz was on fire. After nearly losing the opening set despite having a big lead, the third seed got really serious and played amazing tennis.
In that second set, Alcaraz had 14 winners, which is more than one winner per game, as they only played eight games in total. The final set didn't go any differently because the defending champion was still playing well.
This match was far better from the Spanaird than the first one, and the jump was quite dramatic after the first set. If he keeps improving like this, he'll be very tough to beat, regardless of the opponent. The final score was 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2.
Carlos Alcaraz vs Aleksandar Vukic Match Stats:
| Carlos Alcaraz | 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2 | Aleksandar Vukic |
| 10 | Aces | 2 |
| 2 | Double Faults | 2 |
| 67% | First Serve % | 62% |
| 82% (42/51) | Points Won After First Serve % | 59% (32/54) |
| 56% (14/25) | Points Won After Second Serve % | 42% (14/33) |
| 55% (6/11) | Break Point Conversion | 67% (2/3) |
| 41 | Winners | 19 |
| 15 | Unforced Errors | 22 |
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