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Top seed Carlos Alcaraz moved into the third round at Wimbledon with a 6-4, 7-6 (2), 6-3 win over 84th-ranked Alexandre Muller on Friday, putting on an entertaining if error-strewn performance on Centre Court.
Muller, 26, who has spent most of his professional career on the second-tier Challenger circuit, was able to pressure Alcaraz into an uncharacteristic 41 unforced errors. But the smiling young Spaniard’s all-around game, a mixture of power and exquisite touch, was just too strong.
At key moments, Alcaraz produced backhands that swerved around the net post, lobs that puffed the baseline chalk, and unreturnable serves that reached 130 mph.
“I’m getting more experience and getting better every game,” Alcaraz said in an on-court interview. “Wimbledon is different to other tournament. I want to enjoy every single second, and I did.”
After breaking serve in the seventh game, Alcaraz won the first set on his fourth set point with a big serve. He raced to a 6-0 lead in the second-set tiebreaker before ultimately winning it with a glorious half-volley.
Alcaraz, who made it to the fourth round at Wimbledon last year, produced a searing passing shot to break serve in the ninth game of the final set and wrapped up the match on his serve with a forehand winner.
Third-seeded Daniil Medvedev advanced to the third round by beating Adrian Mannarino 6-3, 6-3, 7-6 (5). Medvedev’s previous best effort at Wimbledon was the fourth round in 2021, but he thinks he is finally feeling at home at the grass-court Grand Slam.
“Getting there. Maybe at the door. Not inside, but at the door,” Medvedev said. “It’s perfect. This match was much better than the first one. I felt that I was doing many, many things good.”
In other second-round matches, No. 6 Holger Rune swept Roberto Carballes Baena 6-3, 7-6 (3), 6-4, Matteo Berrettini upset No. 15 Alex De Minaur 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, and No. 19 Alexander Zverev beat Yosuke Watanuki 6-4, 5-7, 6-2, 6-2.
No. 14 Lorenzo Musetti won Friday’s only matchup of seeded men’s players with a 7-6 (4), 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 17 Hubert Hurkacz to reach the fourth round. No. 8 Jannik Sinner is into the fourth as well after beating Quentin Halys 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.