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New Delhi: On a record hot opening day, title favourites Carlos Alcaraz and Aryna Sabalenka produced contrasting victories in the opening round at Wimbledon on Monday.

Two-time defending champion Alcaraz was made to sweat in a 7-5, 6-7, 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win by veteran unseeded Fabio Fognini while women’s World No. 1 Sabalenka cruised to the second round with a 6-1, 7-5 win over qualifier Carson Branstine.

At Court No. 1, the Belarusian won in 73 minutes as she began her hunt for a maiden Wimbledon title after three hard court major titles.

Medvedev loses, Jabeur quits

Ninth-seeded Daniil Medvedev crashed out in the first round after going down to 64th-ranked Benjamin Bonzi 7-6 (2), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-2 on Monday.

The Russian was also beaten in the first round of the French Open before a second-round loss at the Australian Open.

It is the first time since 2017 that Medvedev has lost successive Grand Slam first-round matches.

Two-time runner-up Ons Jabeur pulled out of her first-round match midway after taking a medical timeout, in another setback in an injury-filled season.

The 30-year-old retired while trailing Viktoriya Tomova 7-6 (5), 2-0 after being treated by a trainer in the first set. At one point, she sat on her sideline seat and cried into a towel.

“I wasn’t expecting not to feel good. I have been practising pretty well the last few days. But I guess these things happen. I’m pretty sad.

“Doesn’t really help me with my confidence and what I keep pushing myself to do even though it was a very tough season for me. I hope I can feel better,” Jabeur said after the match.

The Tunisian lost to Elena Rybakina in the final of 2022 edition and to Marketa Vondrousova in the 2023 final and she was also a finalist at the 2022 US Open behind Iga Swiatek.

She has been plagued with leg problems this year while her 2024 season got ended prematurely due to a shoulder injury.