Aurélie Sacchelli, Media365, published on Monday July 1, 2024 at 7:31 p.m.
Ugo Humbert needed five sets to defeat Alexander Shevchenko and reach the second round of Wimbledon. Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz went through in three sets against Estonian qualifier Lajal.
French No. 1 Ugo Humbert will be in the second round of Wimbledon. The world No. 16 player suffered, but ended up winning against No. 57, Alexander Shevchenko, against whom he had triumphed in the final in Metz last fall to win the title on home soil. The Moselle player, who had suffered three consecutive defeats on grass, a surface he loves, won 6-1, 4-6, 7-6, 6-7, 6-1 against the Kazakh.thanks in particular to 16 aces, 54 winners and 45 unforced errors. Humbert played his tennis in the first set (breaks at 1-1, 3-1 and 5-1), before losing the second by giving up his serve at 3-3. Shevchenko then led 5-3 in the third set, but the Frenchman equalized at 5-5, before winning the set in the tie-break (7-2). The fourth set, however, turned in favor of the Kazakh, who won it in the tie-break (7-3). It was therefore necessary to play a fifth set, and this time there was no suspense: after saving three break points at the start, Humbert accelerated to take the opponent’s serve at 2-1 and 4-1 and win. Next opponent: Botic van de Zandschulp, 97th in the world.
Alcaraz does not fall into the trap
Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz had a slightly easier start to the competition, with a three-set victory against Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal: 7-6, 7-5, 6-2 in 2h23. The number 3 was not always convincing, as in the first set where he was the first to lose his serve (2-3). But he broke back immediately with a shutout before winning the set in the tie-break (7-3). The scenario was identical in the second, where the 269th in the world broke at 1-0 before losing his advantage in the process on a white break (2-1). Alcaraz did not need to go to a tie-break this time, taking his opponent’s serve at 5-5 to pocket the set. In the third, however, the defending champion had no problems, with breaks at 0-0, 3-1 and 5-1 before winning on his second match point (44 winners, 28 unforced errors). He will have a second round within his reach, against Aleksandar Vukic (69th), who defeated Sebastian Ofner in the super tie-break after 3h52 of play: 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6.
