London: For the last 50 weeks, Carlos Alcaraz knew the exact date and time he would walk back on Centre Court to open the defence of his Wimbledon title and the Spaniard kept his goosebumps in check on Monday to book his place in the second round.
While injury woes have plagued many of those who have also hoisted the Challenge Cup in recent years -- with question marks over the participation of Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray -- Alcaraz showed his was fighting fit despite a less than ideal build-up to the grasscourt major.
The third seed, who admitted he even gets nervous practising on the spiritual home of grasscourt tennis, beat Estonian qualifier Mark Lajal 7-6(3) 7-5 6-2 on an overcast day in southwest London.
"Stepping on this court, it's the most beautiful court I've played on. I still get nerves when I'm playing here," Alcaraz, whose Queen's Club title defence ended with an early exit last month, said courtside.
"I played for 45 minutes here on Thursday and it's the first time I get nervous practising. I'm glad and I'm a privileged guy to play on this court. When I walk around, I get goosebumps. I remember last year and that was a great feeling."
Not everyone present at the All England Club on the opening day of the championships was sharing the recently crowned French Open champion's joie de vivre.
Belarusian pair Aryna Sabalenka and Victoria Azarenka, who between them own four Australian Open titles, were first-day injury casualties.
Third seed Sabalenka, who had been drawn to face American Emina Bektas, and 16th seed Azarenka both pulled out shortly before their opening matches with shoulder injuries. Azarenka had been due to take on 2017 U.S. Open champion Sloane Stephens.
Fans flocking to the All England Club on Tuesday will be hoping that seven-times champion Djokovic and Murray, who ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's Wimbledon champion when he won the first of his two titles in 2013, will both be fit enough to make their Centre Court dates.
While Djokovic had knee surgery last month, Murray is recovering from a procedure on his back just days ago and with this year's tournament expected to be his Wimbledon swansong, he is desperately hoping he can write the ending of his own script with one final rousing run on court rather than off it.
Twice French Open runner-up Casper Ruud was another player delighted to be back on court after he was hit by a parasitic infection that kept him in bed for almost two weeks following his run to the Roland Garros semi-finals last month.
Ruud matched his best result at the championships after he reached the second round by defeating Australian qualifier Alex Bolt 7-6 6-4 6-4. Fifth seed Daniil Medvedev, beaten in the semi-finals last year by Alcaraz, produced an assured 6-3 6-4 6-2 win over American Aleksandar Kovacevic.
Gauff wins all-American showdown
There was no need for Coco Gauff to hide away from the spotlight on Monday as she banished memories of her 2023 Wimbledon nightmare with a 6-1 6-2 first-round destruction of fellow American Caroline Dolehide.
On the eve of this year's grasscourt championships, Gauff had admitted she had been "in a dark place" following her opening round exit in London last year but armed with the knowledge that things "couldn't get any worse" this time round, she was simply unstoppable against her 51st-ranked rival.
"Last year I lost in the first round and it was very tough for me, that’s why I am a little emotional and that’s why I was happy to turn it around," Gauff told the crowd on court. The 20-year-old, now a Grand Slam champion having won the U.S. Open in September, dropped only one point on serve during a formidable first-set performance.
Such was her confidence she conjured an incredible crosscourt lob into the far corner which she greeted with a one-armed salute as the Centre Court crowd jumped to their feet to roar their approval.
The world number two kept up the barrage of winners in the second set and despite overcooking a forehand on her first match point, she made no mistake on her second.
