Carlos Alcaraz, from less to more, defeats Aleksandar Vukic to reach the 3rd round of Wimbledon 2024

In his defense of the Wimbledon 2024 title, Carlos Alcaraz is already in the third round of the Grand Slam on grass after beating Aleksandar Vukic in a match where the player from Murcia went from strength to strength. The world number 3 took the match by 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-2.

FIRST SET.

In the first set, Alcaraz started serving and winning with solvency his first service game, conceding a single point to Vukic. The match began to be played indoors. The Australian responded with a similar game, and Carlitos would do the same again to put the initial 2-1 in his favor. The 2-2 was going to cost a little more to close it to Vukic, who began to notice how the Spaniard was warming up little by little.

After Alcaraz added the 3-2 in his favor on the scoreboard would come the first break of the match. The player from Murcia was 15-40 on Aleksandar Vukic's serve, and with two break balls, in the second, he got an important 4-2 to take the first set in his favor. Despite starting 0-15 in the next game, Carlitos chained 3 points in a row to get 40-15, and then, with an unforced error of his rival, certify the previous break to go ahead to 5-2.

After the 5-3, Alcaraz served to win the set, but it was going to be complicated with an initial 0-30 in favor of his rival. Things got even worse with an unforced error of the Murcian that left the Australian with three break balls, 0-40 up. With a lot of luck after a hit that the net left impossible to reach for Carlitos, Vukic surprised with a game in white that brought him back to life in the first set with 5-4 down but having recovered the break of disadvantage.

Vukic returned the absolute equality to the scoreboard with a 5-5 that opened a new scenario in the first set, although Alcaraz served to win it with 5-3 up. In fact, the player from Murcia would find himself in a very critical moment, suffering another break after a double fault and going from 5-3 in favor to 5-6 against, and with his rival with the opportunity to win the set with his serve. However, Carlitos would have a champion's reaction, with a crucial break to send the set to tie break when it seemed that he had lost it.

In the tiebreak, Alcaraz chained two mini breaks that left him 5-1 up with a big advantage to take a first set that had been drastically complicated. Although Carlitos suffered two consecutive mini breaks when he was 5-2 up, which left Vukic 5-4 down but with his two serves, the Spaniard got another crucial mini break to get 6-4, and with his serve 6-5 up, taking the first set 7-5 in the tie break.

SECOND SET.

After a first set that was a roller coaster of emotions, the second set began. Both players won their first serves without problems. At 1-1 the first key moment arrived, with Alcaraz breaking after Vukic saved the first two break points. Then, the Spaniard certified the advantage with a game in white that put him 3-1 up.

With the mind in that 5-3 that complicated the first set, Carlitos did not want the same thing to happen here, and with a devastating level of tennis he would get another break, this time in white, to put the 4-1 in his favor. Maintaining the trend of the last two, another game in white of the Murcian placed Alcaraz with a 5-1 practically definitive. Vukic had not won a point since he lost his serve at 1-1. After the 5-2, where the Australian was going to get at least make up the set, Carlitos was not going to fail this time serving to win the second set, which closed with another blank game (four had achieved in the set) by 6-2.

THIRD SET.

At this point, Carlos Alcaraz had to continue with the good sensations of the previous set to not complicate the match. The third set started with Aleksandar Vukic winning his first service game. An empty set allowed Carlitos to put the score at 1-1. The key moment of this set would come next, with a break that the Spaniard would get after getting 15-40, and in his second opportunity. With 2-1 up, Alcaraz certified the break and went 3-1.

Vukic was in a very delicate moment, which was going to translate into a new 15-40 in favor of Carlos Alcaraz. On this occasion, the Spaniard broke on his first break point, and was 4-1 up with the possibility of going 5-1 if he won his next serve. After Vukic was unable to stop him from winning his game and the Australian made it 5-2, Alcaraz closed the set 6-2 and the match to qualify to the 3rd round of Wimbledon, where he will face a tough opponent like Frances Tiafoe.