Alcaraz crushes Vukic and reaches third round of Wimbledon

Spanish tennis player Carlos Alcaraz advanced this Wednesday to the third round of the Wimbledon tournament, the third ‘Grand Slam’ of the season that is being played on the grass surface, after a solid victory against the Australian Aleksandar Vukic, number 69 in the world, (7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-2) in one hour and 51 minutes of match.

Alcaraz went straight to the third round of Wimbledon, where he will be for the third consecutive edition, after a crushing victory against Vukic, who only put the Spaniard in trouble in the first set. Quite the opposite in the second and third sets, in which the Murcian reached his highest level of play, having fun on the court with winning shots of all kinds (24) that reinforced his confidence for the duel against the American Frances Tiafoe this Friday.

Alcaraz’s numbers were particularly good with his serve, with which he won up to 11 direct points, 82 percent of points won with the first serve – he did not lose any in either the second or third set – and he conceded only two double faults. In addition, the Spaniard was quite consistent in his game, committing only 15 unforced errors in the entire match.

The match started with an inconsistent Alcaraz, who was able to take the initiative with his serve during the first three sets and break the Australian’s serve twice, as well as give up his own on two occasions. Thus, the Spanish tennis player had to face the most tense moment of the tournament so far, returning to send the first set to a tie-break in the 12th game of the match. That’s when Alcaraz came out on top, breaking Vukic’s serve and subsequently taking the tie-break 7-5.

Despite winning the first set of the match, the Murcian tennis player had considerable room for improvement, especially in his percentage of points won with the first serve –61 percent– and in the definition of points at the net, where he had only managed to win eight of the 12 played. Much better were his statistics in winning shots (18) and unforced errors (8).

Alcaraz started the second set in the best possible way: holding his serve and putting pressure on the Australian’s serve. A demand on Vukic’s serve that paid off in the third game of the set, when the Murcia native managed to break on his third break opportunity. A game that marked a turning point in Alcaraz’s tennis, which has since become brilliant at times and, above all, more consistent.

The world number three then went on to win five games in a row in the second set, taking a 5-1 lead. He ended up winning the set 6-2 in just under 30 minutes, with some outstanding numbers — 83% of first serves, four aces, 100% of points won with first serve, 14 winners and only three unforced errors.

A very high level of play that Alcaraz continued in the third and final set of the match, in which he gave no chance to an overwhelmed and somewhat more erratic Vukic than in the first two sets. Thus, the Murcia native again did not lose a point with his first serve and finished the set in half an hour of play with the same score as the previous set, 6-2.

With this victory, Alcaraz confirms his growth in the game compared to his debut in the tournament, feeling much more comfortable on the court and improving the performances offered in the match against Estonian Mark Lajal. An aspect to take into account for the third round match, in which he will face a much more experienced and tough rival in Tiafoe, number 29 in the world, who has a 2-1 head to head advantage over the Spaniard.