One of the most beautiful symphonies in sport was heard again on Centre Court just before 4pm on Monday as Carlos Alcaraz uncocked his elbow and swung for the stars. First came the crisp snap of racket strings crushing the Slazenger ball. Then, as it clapped against the wall, came the gasps, followed by the applause. Through all the four movements, Alcaraz’s opponent, Mark Lajal, did not twitch.
It was the most powerful of the Spaniard’s 25 forehand winners during his 7-6 (3), 7-5, 6-2 victory, but it also carried a wider significance. When Alcaraz won the French Open last month, he did so wearing an arm sleeve to protect his injured elbow. Even in victory there were concerns over whether he was applying full power, and revolutions, into his shots. But here the sleeve was off, along with the shackles.
It was a good job too because, in the 21-year-old Lajal, Alcaraz faced an opponent who believed he could cause a gigantic upset, despite being ranked 269th in the world. It has long been a refrain of grizzled football managers that there are no easy games at international level. Lajal’s performance suggested a similar maxim could be applied to grand slam tennis.
“He played great,” Alcaraz said. “I’m sure if he is still playing at this level, he’s going to increase his ranking. He has the level to go up a lot. He is really young, the same age as me, and I am sure I am going to see him more often. But I think I played a solid match, a great match.”
Despite his three grand slam title victories, the Spaniard also admitted to feeling nervous when he walked on to court as defending champion. “Stepping on this court, it is the most beautiful court I have played on,” he said. “I still get nerves when I play here.”
What had helped, Alcaraz revealed afterwards, was a Sunday night round at the Royal Wimbledon golf club. “Every time that I can, I try to go to play golf,” he said. “It’s something that helps me a lot to turn off my mind a little bit, not to think about the match the day before. Just be around the atmosphere that the golf brings you, I think it’s a beautiful one. This is a sport that I love to play. It helps me a lot to stay calm, not to think about tennis.”
The crowd on Centre Court probably expected a gentle first-day loosener for the defending Wimbledon champion, especially against an opponent who had played only six matches on the main tour and lost four of them. However Lajal put Alcaraz’s serve under pressure right from the off before breaking him at 2-2 in the first set. Many players wilt in their first experience of Centre Court, but Lajal revelled in the experience.
Even though Alcaraz broke straight back, Lajal refused to go away. A 132mph ace had the crowd purring, as did a backhand smash at 5-5 in the first set. The Estonian had earned his place here by winning three matches in qualifying, including a straight‑sets win against the wily Australian James Duckworth, but no one could have expected this. Only in the first-set tie-break did Alcaraz finally wrestle control.
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Having won the opener, it would have been no surprise to see Alcaraz release the handbrake and move away. Instead Lajal doubled down and broke him in his first service. Again Alcaraz recovered but only when he broke again at 5-5 did he finally feel comfortable. “I’ve never watched a match from him,” he said. “I just watched the highlights yesterday, this morning a little bit. I didn’t get any information from him.”
The third set proved a mini masterclass as Alcaraz used a mixture of delicacy, both from the drop shot and the drop volley, and power to see off his man. When Lajal saved a match point, at 5-1 down, some in the crowd stood to applaud. We will surely hear more about him in the future. Alcaraz, meanwhile, knows his arm, and his game, is ready for what lies ahead.
