Alcaraz and Sabalenka Set the Ton

2025.07.01

Alcaraz and Sabalenka Take Center Stage as Wimbledon 2025 Serves Off

London (AFP) – As the grass-court Grand Slam begins, volatile women’s world number one Aryna Sabalenka will be in the focus, while Carlos Alcaraz begins his quest for a third consecutive Wimbledon men’s crown.

It seems appropriate that Alcaraz, the main attraction at the 138th Championships, will commence play on Centre Court against 38-year-old Italian Fabio Fognini. It would be shocking if Alcaraz, who has had 17 Grand Slam first-round appearances and has never lost, were to become just the third men’s champion to lose in the first round at Wimbledon, following Manuel Santana in 1967 and Lleyton Hewitt in 2003.

Alcaraz comes to south-west London hoping to become one of the great Wimbledon greats after defeating Novak Djokovic in the previous two Wimbledon championships.

Although the 22-year-old Spaniard has a well-established clay-court reputation, he is just as explosive on grass. Alcaraz has defeated Jannik Sinner in the 2022 Wimbledon last 16; he has won 29 of his 32 Tour-level matches on the surface. After seven-time champion Djokovic, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, and Pete Sampras, Alcaraz is attempting to become the sixth man in the Open Era to win at least three Wimbledon titles in a row.

After Borg, who accomplished that feat in 1978, Alcaraz would become the second-youngest player in the Open Era to win six Grand Slam men’s championships if he meets that goal.

London is experiencing a short heatwave as the most recent Wimbledon tournament gets underway.

Yesterday’s temperatures at Wimbledon were predicted to reach a sweltering 33 degrees Celsius, making the conditions difficult for both players and spectators. When the top seed begins her campaign on Court One against Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine, Sabalenka will be focused on maintaining her composure.

The 27-year-old Belarusian, a three-time Grand Slam winner, has lost heartbreaking three-set matches in the French Open and Australian Open finals this year.

Despite falling in the final four of Wimbledon in 2021 and 2023, Sabalenka has advanced to the final of five of her previous six Grand Slams.

@CHARITH RAJAPAKSHA