Carlos Alcaraz managed to win his first round match at Wimbledon, but he looked to be in some trouble against Fabio Fognini.
Alcaraz beat Fognini in five sets on Centre Court, despite leading the match by a set and a break.
The Spaniard is one of the big favourites for the title, particularly as Alcaraz is the two-time defending Wimbledon champion.
However, Alcaraz was evidently frustrated with how he performed in his first round match at Wimbledon.
John McEnroe on what was ‘unusual’ about Carlos Alcaraz’s first Wimbledon performance
Alcaraz extended his winning streak to 19 matches after beating the soon to be retiring Fognini, 7-5 6(2)-7 7-5 2-6 6-1, in over four-and-a-half hours on Centre Court.
This match has received a big reaction, with many wondering why Alcaraz was unable to beat the world number 138 more convincingly.
One of those to react to Alcaraz’s performance is three-time Wimbledon champion John McEnroe, who claimed that the world number two looked ‘flat as a pancake’.
However, McEnroe did suggest that he thought Alcaraz’s defeat could spark something in him for his future matches in Wimbledon.
“That’s one of the most interesting first round matches I can recall off the top of my head here at Wimbledon,” McEnroe said on the BBC. “I think the conditions helped that to some degree.
“Fognini is a guy who rises to the occasion. This guy hasn’t won a match since the fall. He is losing in Challengers in the first round. Grass court season led you to believe he would lose first round in straight sets but he plays differently to most players.
“He is old school, takes the ball early and hits it pretty flat. Very clean. He was clearly playing well at the beginning and milking this atmosphere to be on Centre Court instead of Court 16.
“Carlos looked like he was flat as a pancake. Why? I don’t know. Perhaps he assumed Fognini would fall away pretty easily. His serve was off. His forehand was off. For me to see him play like that was surprising but I have to give Fognini credit.
“But he was up a set and 4-2. He should have won the second set. He was up in the third and barely pulled that set out. He got blown out in the fourth.
“It’s a good wake up call for him. He won Queen’s. Everything is perfect, same as last year. He wins the French, pulls out an incredible match, goes and parties in Ibiza comes to Queen’s almost loses early but wins it so the prep is pretty similar and the results you would expect to be similar. But he has some work to do.
“The forehand was completely off. If you watch this match from start to finish you will notice for the great part of the match Fognini was the one taking it to him and that’s very unusual.”
Carlos Alcaraz vs Fabio Fognini statistics
McEnroe’s assessment of Alcaraz’s performance is showcased in the match statistics, with the five-time Grand Slam champion producing an uncharacteristic number of errors.
Alcaraz hit a total of 61 unforced errors against Fognini, with 35 of them coming from the forehand side that McEnroe noticed was struggling.
The serve also appeared to be an issue for Alcaraz, hitting just 58% of his first serves in and producing nine double faults.
Alcaraz will look to step up his game when he plays his second round match at Wimbledon against British wildcard Oliver Tarvet.
That match between Alcaraz and the world number 733 will take place on Wednesday, July 2.
Receive exclusive tennis news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
