Wimbledon 2023: Top seed Carlos Alcaraz passes tricky Alexandre Muller test to reach third round

Carlos Alcaraz continued his quest for a maiden Wimbledon title by overcoming a tricky test against Frenchman Alexandre Muller in the second round. The world No. 1 was uncharacteristically sloppy at times, making 41 unforced errors, but did enough to battle his way to a 6-4 7-6(2) 6-3 win in two hours and 34 minutes.

Ad “I’m really happy. It’s my second match on Centre Court and I lost the first one last year," Alcaraz said. WimbledonAlcaraz warned to reduce number of unforced errors to win WimbledonAN HOUR AGO “I’m happy to play here again, this time with a win on this beautiful court.

I wanted to enjoy every single second and I think I did.” Alcaraz will face Jason Kubler or 25th seed Nicolas Jarry next as he looks to book a place in the second week of Wimbledon for a second consecutive year. “It’s really important to start tournaments well, to have great feelings," Alcaraz added. «I think I’m playing really well on grass, I’m not as experienced maybe as other players, but I’m enjoying it.

“I’m at a good level, getting more experience and getting better with every match I play. Of course playing here at Wimbledon is something special, you feel different compared to other tournaments.” Both players put on the squeeze early in the first set but neither managed to seize their break point chances as it quickly became clear a finely-balanced contest was breaking out. There was nothing to separate the players in the first six games, but Alcaraz then made the decisive breakthrough, coming back from 30-15 down to win three straight points and break Muller’s serve.