Overview

• Alcaraz overcame breaks of serve and erratic play to edge Fognini 7-5, 6-7(5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 in a nearly five-hour contest.
• He became only the third defending Open Era men’s champion to require five sets in a first-round match at Wimbledon, joining Roger Federer in 2010.
• An 18-match winning streak carried him through tight moments before a brief medical timeout for a spectator offered a cooling break in scorching conditions.
• Thirty-eight-year-old Fognini bowed out in his final Wimbledon appearance after pushing the defending champion to the brink on Centre Court.
• Alcaraz will next face world No. 733 Oliver Tarvet, who is making his Wimbledon debut, with the winner advancing to the third round.