Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz and top seed Jannik Sinner took contrasting routes into the third round of Wimbledon, but eighth seed Casper Ruud was unable to find a way through and felt the gloom on a cloudy Wednesday at the All England Club.
Alcaraz came close to dropping the opening set of his match against Australian Aleksandar Vukic, but the third seed sprang to life to secure a 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2 win.
Alcaraz said he was rediscovering the form that led him to the 2023 title.
“I’m feeling similar … obviously, I’m getting better and better. Hopefully, if I keep winning, I’m going to find the same level as the final last year,” said Alcaraz, who downed Novak Djokovic in five sets in 2023 for what at the time was his second major championship. “I’m feeling that I’m playing great tennis. Physically, I’m feeling great. Hopefully I’ll keep going.”
His win sets up a third-round meeting with No. 29 Frances Tiafoe after the American eliminated Borna Coric 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-3.
“Frances, a great player, a great person as well,” Alcaraz said. “He always smiles. He always seems like he’s enjoying his time on the court, off the court as well. It’s pretty impressive. Try to put on a show every time he steps on the court, as well.
“It’s going to be a really fun match to play, to watch. I’ll try to put my good weapons on the match and try to beat him.”
When told by the on-court interviewer that Tiafoe said he’s “coming after you,” the 21-year-old Spaniard replied with a smile: “I’m going for him.”
“We played a really good match in the US Open,” the No. 3 seed said of their 2022 semifinal that Alcaraz won at Flushing Meadows.
Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev looked out of sorts early on Centre Court and was pushed hard by No. 102 Alexandre Muller before prevailing 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-4, 7-5.
Rain delayed the start of play on the outer courts for a little over two hours in the morning, and Ruud became an early victim when the action resumed. The three-time Grand Slam runner-up fell 4-6, 5-7, 7-6 (1), 3-6 to Italian Fabio Fognini.
“I’m disappointed that I lost but I know my abilities on this surface and I’m trying to be realistic,” said Ruud, whose best results have come on clay and hard courts.
“I just find it difficult. I find it fun as a challenge and I try my best every year,” he said. “I haven’t given up on it yet but it’s really difficult for me somehow, the movement and feeling confident out there.”
No. 1 Jannik Sinner needed four sets and three tiebreaks but overcame 2021 runner-up Matteo Berrettini 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 2-6, 7-6 (4) in an all-Italian showdown on Centre Court.
“I knew that I had to raise my level today,” Sinner said. “He is a grass-court specialist. … I’m very happy how I handled the situation.”
The 22-year-old Sinner, who extended his record against fellow Italians to 14-0, will continue his quest to add the Wimbledon title to this year’s Australian Open against Serbia’s Miomir Kecmanovic on Friday.
American Tommy Paul, seeded 12th, came from behind to beat Finland’s Otto Virtanen 4-6, 6-3, 5-7, 7-5, 6-4 to advance to the next round, where he will play Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik.
Meanwhile, fellow American Christopher Eubanks, who reached the quarterfinals last year, suffered a 4-6, 4-6, 2-6 loss to France’s Quentin Halys.
The matches between American 14th seed Ben Shelton against Lloyd Harris of South Africa, and 10th seed Grigor Dimitrov against China’s Juncheng Shang, were postponed to Thursday.
Reuters contributed to this report.