Carlos Alcaraz’s bid for a third successive Wimbledon title almost came to an end before it even started, as the Spanish sensation was taken to the limit by veteran Italian Fabio Fognini in a gripping five-set encounter on Centre Court.
Fresh from claiming the Queen’s Club title and riding high himself following his French Open win, the 2023 and 2024 Wimbledon champion was a massive favourite to come into the first-round encounter. But the contest had other ideas. Alcaraz was defensively in disarray, with timing and shot selection frequently going awry when it mattered.
Alcaraz’s unsteady performance was strongly criticized, with some of the strongest vitriol coming from veteran British No. 1 and Wimbledon semifinalist Tim Henman. On BBC One, Henman was openly critical of the 21-year-old’s concentration and consistency, highlighting his lack of rhythm and inordinate error total throughout the match.
“I am so surprised at the poor execution and surprised at his reactions. He is missing shots that I cannot believe he is missing. It is certainly a concern for his coaching team. He has been pretty careless. He has set up points and, time and time again, made unforced errors,” said Henman.
“He keeps making life difficult for himself. Alcaraz is just making some easy misses here, it has been a very bizarre performance from him,” said a completely bewildered Henman. “I do not think I have ever seen him so out of sorts. It certainly was not meant to go like this. I have never seen Carlos Alcaraz look this out of sorts on such a big stage.”
“Carlos has set the bar for his performances so high because his form has been absolutely sensational. But his first serve percentage has been rather low in this game. It has been around 50 per cent, so Fabio Fognini has been getting plenty of chances to attack the second serve,” he explained.
The match became an unplanned grind, with Alcaraz losing the second and fourth sets and often appearing confused. Perhaps most revealing was his error total: 62 unforced errors, offset by a relatively small number of winners a far cry from the usually clean, powerful baseline game that has characterized his ascent to the top of men’s tennis.
