CARLOS ALCARAZ survived a ma
jor scare in his Wimbledon opener
on Monday (30), while Aryna Sa
balenka impressively kept her cool
to progress on the hottest opening
day in the tournament’s history.
Temperatures at the All England
Club topped 32°C, surpassing the
previous record of 29.3°C set in 2001.
Wimbledon has a heat rule to safe
guard the health of the players.
It allows a 10-minute break to be
taken between the second and third
sets for women’s matches and be
tween the third and fourth sets for
men’s matches, when the heat stress
index is at or above 30.1°C.
Alcaraz dug dip for a 7-5, 6-7 (5/7),
7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win over 38-year-old Fa
bio Fognini in a gruelling clash last
ing four hours and 37 minutes on
Centre Court.
It was first time since Roger Feder
er narrowly beat Alejandro Falla in
2010 that a defending champion had
been taken to a fifth set in the Wim
bledon first round. Alcaraz shrugged
off an inconsistent display, including
62 unforced errors as the world num
ber two refused to wilt in the heat.
“I don’t know why it is probably
Fabio’s last Wimbledon because the
level he has shown shows he can still
play for three or four more years,”
said the Spaniard. “Playing on Centre
Court for the first match of any tour
nament is never easy. Wimbledon is
special and different. I just tried to
play my best, but I would say that I
could play better.”
During the match the 22-year-old
rushed to help a spectator who had
collapsed in the stands, handing over
a bottle of water as medics came to
the woman’s aid.
Alcaraz, who has never lost in a
Grand Slam first round in 18 appear
ances, faces British qualifier Oliver
Tarvet in the second round.
The five-time Grand Slam cham
pion is bidding to become the fifth
man in the Open Era to win at least
three consecutive Wimbledon titles
after Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras, Roger
Federer and seven-time champion
Novak Djokovic.
Meanwhile, top women’s seed Sa
balenka used ice packs to beat the
heat during her 6-1, 7-5 victory over
Canadian qualifier Carson Branstine
on Court One.
The 27-year-old Belarusian is a
three-time Grand Slam champion,
but suffered agonising three-set de
feats in this year’s Australian Open
and French Open finals.
The world number one has never
been beyond the Wimbledon semi-
finals and missed last year’s tourna
ment with a shoulder injury.
“I felt really great. Super grateful to
be healthy and ready to compete and
to be through the first round,” said
Sabalenka, who next faces Czech
world number 48 Marie Bouzkova.
In another match, Brazilian Joao
Fonseca announced himself on
tennis’s grandest stage with a com
manding 6-4 6-1 7-6(5) victory over
British hopeful Jacob Fearnley in the
first round at Wimbledon on Mon
day, confirming his credentials as
one of the most exciting young tal
ents in the sport.
At just 18 years old, Fonseca be
came the youngest man in the men’s
singles draw and marked his Wimble
don senior debut in emphatic fash
ion. The Brazilian used power and
variety in his serve alongside his
trademark brutal forehand to over
power the 23-year-old Fearnley, who
despite being ranked three places
higher at world number 51, was com
prehensively outplayed on Court One.
“I’ve been working a lot,” Fonseca
said in his post-match interview.
“The key is work, believe and dream.”
His words carried particular reso
nance given his meteoric rise through
the rankings. Fewer than two years
ago, he was competing in junior tour
naments, having caught attention by
reaching the boys’ quarter-finals at
Wimbledon and winning the 2023
boys’ US Open.
DEFENDING CHAMPION SURVIVES TOUGH WIMBLEDON OPENER IN HEAT
Alcaraz keeps title bid
alive after five-set fight
PAKISTAN on Monday
(30) named former
all-rounder Azhar
Mahmood interim
head coach of the Test
side, the fourth man
to take the post in the
last 18 months.
The 50-year-old will
remain in the position
until January, the Pa
kistan Cricket Board
(PCB) said.
As a pace bowling
all-rounder Mahmood
played 143 one-day
internationals and 21
Tests for Pakistan,
and has been serving
as assistant coach
since last year.
“The PCB announc
es Mahmood as the
acting red-ball head
coach of the Pakistan
men’s team,” said a
PCB press release.
Mahmood replaces
Aaqib Javed, who was
interim head coach
for the Test series in
South Africa in De
cember-January and
at home against the
West Indies.
Javed left after Pa
kistan lost all four
Tests and ultimately
finished ninth and
last in the third cycle
of the World Test
Championship.
Javed took over
from former Australia
pacer Jason Gillespie,
who unexpectedly
quit six months into
his stint in December
2024 after differences
with the PCB.
Monday’s appoint
ment is part of a se
ries of changes the
PCB has taken to im
prove the perfor
mances of the nation
al team after a poor
two years.
Last month, New
Zealand’s Mike Hes
son took over as
white-ball head coach
for two years.
Pakistan will host
South Africa in their
first series of the lat
est WTC cycle in Oc
tober this year and
then Sri Lanka in De
cember-January.
Azhar takes over as
Pakistan’s Test coach
STAND-IN skipper Smri
ti Mandhana’s maiden
T20 International hun
dred powered India to a
commanding 97-run
victory over England in
the opening match at
Nottingham last Satur
day (28), giving the visi
tors a 1-0 lead in the
five-match series.
Mandhana struck 112
from 62 balls, partnering
with Harleen Deol (43
from 23 balls) in a cru
cial 94-run second-wick
et stand as India posted
210 for five after being
invited to bat.
Standing in for in
jured captain Harman
preet Kaur, Mandhana
dominated with her style
and aggression. She ini
tially struggled with Sha
fali Varma (20 from 22),
whose return after eight
months disappointed,
but remained the domi
nant force in their 77-
run opening stand.
Her innings gained
momentum with three
boundaries off Linsey
Smith in the fourth over
and two sixes against So
phie Ecclestone in the
seventh. She reached her
fifty in 27 balls before ac
celerating further, with
the next 50 coming off
just 24 deliveries.
The breakthrough
moment arrived when
Mandhana surpassed
her previous T20I best of
87, reaching her maiden
century in style with
consecutive boundaries
off Lauren Bell. Her
knock became the high
est individual score for
India in T20Is, eclipsing
Harmanpreet’s 103.
England’s reply crum
bled to 113 all out in 14.5
overs, with captain Nat
Sciver-
Brunt
(66
from
42
balls)
waging a
lone battle.
Debu
tant left-
arm spinner
Shree Chara
ni starred with
4/12 as England
lost half their
side inside 10
overs for under 100.
Bell was England’s
best bowler with 3/27,
removing Richa Ghosh
and Jemimah Rodrigues
in the 18th over, but by
then India had already
established an unassail
able position, firmly ap
proaching the 200-run
mark with ease.
Mandhana century
powers T20 victory
30
Sport
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ENGLAND named an unchanged
squad for the second Test against India
at Edgbaston with pace bowler Jofra
Archer still waiting for his comeback.
Ben Stokes’ side won the first
match of the five-Test series by five
wickets at Headingley last Tuesday
(24), chasing down 371 runs on the fi
nal day to take a 1-0 lead.
Archer has not played Test cricket
since February 2021, but was called
up to the squad after bowling his first
red-ball cricket for four years in Sus
sex’s County Championship match
against Durham last week.
However, the 30-year-old missed
Monday’s (30) training session due to
a family emergency. The fast bowler
burst onto the scene in 2019 and was
seen as a key weapon for England
with his genuine pace. England are
looking to take a 2-0 lead at a
ground where India have never
won a Test in eight visits.
Meanwhile, all eyes were on
whether India’s star bowler
Jasprit Bumrah is selected for
the match. The 31-year-old
pace spearhead is being care
fully managed after
suffering a back in
jury in January
during India’s 3-1
series loss to
Australia. India
committed to
playing Bumrah
in only three of
the five matches against England
as part of managing his workload.
Assistant coach Ryan ten Does
chate said, “He’s available for
the game, obviously. We know
from the start he’s only going
to play three out of the five.
“If we feel like there’s value
in playing him in this Test,
we’ll make that call at the very
last minute. Are we better off
holding him back for
Lord’s and maybe
Manchester or the
Oval?” Bumrah
bowled only
three overs in
Monday’s train
ing session,
unlike his teammates who bowled
much more.
India coach Gautam Gambhir is
facing pressure after seven defeats in
11 Tests since taking charge last year.
The 43-year-old former opening bats
man has been criticised for his team
selections and man management.
Former India batsman Aakash
Chopra said: “Gautam Gambhir is un
der significant pressure. He has man
aged two wins against Bangladesh and
one against Australia, but we’ve lost
three matches to New Zealand, three
to Australia and now one to England.”
Gambhir succeeded Rahul Dravid
in July last year after Dravid’s success
ful three-year stint that ended with a
T20 World Cup victory.
England name same side as India assess Bumrah
CROWN QUEST: Carlos
Alcaraz celebrates during
his first-round win at
Wimbledon on Monday (30)
© Henry Nichols/AFP via Getty Images
SELECTION CALL:
Jasprit Bumrah
TRIUMPH: Smriti
Mandhana
© Philip Brown/Getty Images
© Gareth Copley/Getty Images