STORY: Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz and top seed Jannik Sinner took contrasting routes into the third round of Wimbledon on Wednesday (July 3).
Alcaraz came close to dropping the first set of his contest against Australian Aleksandar Vukic but the third seed sprang to life and blew away his opponent with a 7-6(5) 6-2 6-2 victory during which he showed flashes of last year’s title-winning form.
Sinner was dragged into a fight by fellow Italian Matteo Berrettini and surrendered the third set tamely before battling to a 7-6(3) 7-6(4) 2-6 7-6(4) win shortly before the 11 p.m. curfew at the venue.
In the women’s draw, second seed Coco Gauff, meanwhile, put on a masterclass under the roof on Court One to get past Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni 6-2 6-1.
Wild card Emma Raducanu eased to a 6-1 6-2 win over Elise Mertens but it was the end of the road for fellow former U.S. Open champion Naomi Osaka, who was beaten 6-4 6-1 by American 19th seed Emma Navarro.
(Production: Stefan Haskins)
