ANKARA – Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz reached the second round of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships on Monday.
The World No. 3 Spanish player beat Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal in straight sets of 7-6 (7-3), 7-5, 6-2 to progress in the major tennis competition in London.
The Italian top seed in men's singles, Jannik Sinner, won against Germany's Yannick Hanfmann with sets of 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 to play against his compatriot Matteo Berrettini in the second round.
In women's singles, Maria Sakkari, the Greek ninth seed, made a strong start at Wimbledon as she beat her US opponent McCartney Kessler with sets of 6-3, 6-1 in a first-round match.
American Coco Gauff, the world No. 2 in women's singles, booked her place in the second round with a commanding 6-1, 6-2 win over her compatriot Caroline Dolehide.
British veteran Andy Murray on Tuesday confirmed that he will not compete in the men's singles, but is still planning to compete in the doubles.
David Goffin of Belgium will replace Murray to play against Czech player Tomas Machac at the All-England Club Tuesday evening.
Murray, 37, underwent a surgery to deal with a back injury a few days ago, but was hoping to play his last Wimbledon Championships as he will probably retire later this year.
"Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year," a statement from Murray's team read.
"As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time."
The three-time Grand Slam champion and his elder brother Jamie Murray have been allocated a wild card for this year's doubles event at Wimbledon.
As the 2012 and 2016 singles Olympic champion, Murray will make his fifth Olympic appearance in Paris this summer.
The 2024 Wimbledon Championships, which started Monday, will conclude on July 14. (Anadolu/Xinhua)
