London, June 30 (IANS) Two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz survived a scare on the opening day of action at Wimbledon, defeating seasoned Fabio Fognini in an intense five-set thriller to reach the men’s singles second round at the All England Club here on Monday.

Alcaraz, the World No.2 and French Open 2025 winner, overcame the veteran Italian and the intense London heat 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in four hours and 37 minutes.

In a topsy-turvy battle, which featured first-class shotmaking, Alcaraz showed his trademark grit to triumph on the hottest opening day at The Championships with temperatures reaching 31.4C.

The Spaniard, who now holds a standout 14-1 fifth-set record and recently defeated Jannik Sinner in the Roland Garros final, was made to work extremely hard against a free-hitting Fognini.

In London with an 18-match winning streak – the longest of his career, Alcaraz is aiming to join Bjorn Borg and become just the second man in history to win the Roland Garros-Wimbledon double in consecutive years.

However, few would have expected the 22-year-old to struggle against the 38-year-old Fognini, who as the third oldest man in the men’s singles draw, stepped onto the court on the back of a 10-match tour-level losing streak.

Yet for periods, Alcaraz was in real trouble on Centre Court. With David Beckham watching on in the Royal Box, Alcaraz rallied from a breakdown in the third set and finally put the Italian to bed in a dominant fifth set. With his win, the No. 2 player in the ATP Rankings avoided becoming just the third defending champion to lose in the first round. Manuel Santana fell in 1967 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2003.

Alcaraz also maintained his perfect first-round record at the majors (18-0) and extended his winning streak at Wimbledon to 15 matches. He will next meet British qualifier Oliver Tarvet after the 21-year-old beat Swiss Leandro Riedi 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 to earn victory on his major debut.

Alcaraz is chasing his sixth title of the season, highlighted by his fifth major at Roland Garros and ATP Masters 1000 titles in Monte Carlo and Rome. Earlier this month, Alcaraz triumphed at The Queen’s Club for the second time.

–IANS

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