Champ Alcaraz into third round with straight set win

By Paul Lagan at Wimbledon
Court 1

Carlos Alcaraz v Aleksandar Vukic 7-6, 6-2, 6-2

Reigning Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz cruised into the third round with a powerhouse display to beat Australian Aleksandar Vukic in straight sets.
The Spaniard too just under two hours to see off his opponent, who must have felt like a rabbit in headlights for much of the match.
Alcaraz simply had too much shot variation and know-how to allow his hard-hitting opponent a foothold in to the game.
But this is not the polished Alcaraz we saw in the final last year. That will come as he acclimatises on the grass as the second week approaches
Who could hit the ground stroke the best?
That was the deciding factor in the opening set.
Alcaraz has the greater artistry in his game. Vukic is a classic modern male tennis player.
Tall, with a booming serve and a hope that he can zip the winner down the tram line.
And so it proved in the opening five games which wet with serve.
Then sudden;y, on the Aussies’ serve it all went wrong – but tennis won.
A cross-court forehand by the Aussie looked like a winner. Somehow, well dexterity, pace, balance and a tad bit of luck saw Alcaraz send his grasping backhand return down the line for a winner.
It sent the crowd wild and it was the first piece of tennis that stood out from the power shots.
It rattled Vukic who went love 40 down. He rallied slightly to 30 but hit an normal winner wide to give the man from Murcia the break.
Then it was normal service – literally until 5-3 to Alcaraz – serving for the set.
Some incredible returns of first serves took the game to love 40. Then one of those small margins popped its ugly head and a Vukic return tipped the top of the net and dropped over to break Alcaraz to make it 4-5 to Vukic.
He held.
Could Alcaraz?
Nope. Terrific returns of service created unforced errors from the Spaniard and a double fault to boot gave Vukic the game.
But he blew it too. A great piece of dexterity and a net winner saw Alcaraz break back to take the set to a tie-break.
Alcaraz came into his own in the breaker, racing to a 5-1 lead.
Vukic hit an ace but it Vukic snatched two points back to make it 4-5.
Deft play gave Alcaraz the next point. He opted to come into the net on Vukic’s second serve. It failed miserably and he hit long.
At 6-6 Alcaraz hat two serves.
He needed just one to take the breaker 7-6 and a one set lead in 53 minutes.
With opening games going with serve, the action happened in the third game and Alcaraz finally made it count on his third break point, forcing Vukic to smack his intended cross-court backhand into the net.
Vukic’s first serve deserted him in the next game allowing Alcaraz to take control and win the game to love and make it 4-1.
The Australian’s performance levels took a significant drop and Alcaraz won his game to love leaving Vukic serving to save the set.
He loosened up, went for his first serve and it worked – he won the game to 15.
Alcaraz didn’t need any help in seeing off the game and the set – but it always helps when your opponent hits, long and then you finish off with a cracking forehand drive down the line leaving the man on the other side of the net rooted to the spot.
The crucial play came in the third game of the third set and it was Alcaraz who showed greater flexibility in shot selection, a wrist-full of powerful drives and the odd deft drop shot to break the Aussie.
The crowd were by now feeling a tad sorry for Vukic and started to clap more enthusiastically whenever he won a point.
At 1-3 down on his serve he was soon 15-40 down. Another long return, wholly unforced gave another break to Alcaraz who zipped to a 4-1 lead.
After one hour and 48 minutes later it was all over – a game a piece saw Alcaraz see out the third set in style – with an ace.

Pictured top. Carlos Acaraz Picture by Paul Lagan