Jabeur starts Wimbledon campaign with easy win as Alcaraz sends warning to Djokovic

Last year's Wimbledon runner-up Ons Jabeur is up and running once again at the All England Club after a comfortable straight-sets win over Magdalena Frech on Tuesday.

Jabeur has seen injuries hamper her season so far but the sixth seed looked in good shape as she sealed a 6-3, 6-3 victory against the Pole.

Rain decimated action on all the outside courts on the tournament's second day and a torrential downpour could be heard pounding on the Court One roof during the Tunisian's match.

Jabeur, who also lost in the US Open final last year, sealed the opening set in style after just 31 minutes, with of a stunning cross-court winner.

The 28-year-old moved with ease and displayed an impressive range of strokes that included drops, lobs and scoops to overwhelm Frech and ease to victory.

Jabeur will now face either unseeded Belgian Ysaline Bonaventure or Chinese qualifier Bai Zhuoxuan.

“I always feel so great to come back here. Last year I had an amazing run and hopefully this year it will be a little bit better,” said Jabeur, who lost to Elena Rybakina in last year's final.

“I walked into the locker room and there was Elena's photo with the trophy so that didn't help at all! But it's amazing to come back here, just the atmosphere, the grass is so beautiful and I love connecting with nature.”

Defending champion Rybakina was given a scare in her first-round match when she lost the opening set to world No 49 Shelby Rogers.

But Rybakina, who sealed her first Grand Slam triumph with last year's win over Jabeur, fought back to beat the experienced American 4-6, 6-1, 6-2.

It had been a far from convincing start from the 24-year-old Kazakhstani, who had seen her preparation for her title defence hit by illness that saw her pull out of warm-up event at Eastbourne.

Rybakina double-faulted on the first point on her way to being broken, which was enough to give the 30-year-old the foundation to claim the opening set.

Suddenly, Rybakina was looking at becoming the first defending champion to lose in the opening round since Steffi Graf was beaten by Lori McNeil in 1994.

However, she steadied the ship, racing into a 5-0 lead in the second set before levelling the tie.

A double break in the decider then set her comfortably on her way to victory and a second round clash with either Alize Cornet of France or Japan's Nao Hibino.

“I was pretty nervous, and I can't even hide it,” said Rybakina. “The double fault said it all at the beginning of the match. I'm really pleased to get to another round.”

In the men's draw, world No 1 Carlos Alcaraz sent out a warning to his rivals with a ruthless straight-sets win over French veteran Jeremy Chardy.

Alcaraz's emphatic 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 victory underlined his status as the main challenger to reigning champion Novak Djokovic.

The Spaniard, whose recent Queen's Club title showed he is fast adapting to life to grass, is seeded to meet world No 2 Djokovic in a blockbuster final at the All England Club.

That would be a repeat of last month's French Open semi-final, which Djokovic won 6-3, 5-7, 6-1, 6-1 after Alcaraz suffered cramping in the final two sets.

Chardy, a former Wimbledon junior champion, will retire from singles tournaments after this year's event and the 36-year-old was no match for Alcaraz, who is confident it will be a different story if he meets Djokovic again in the Wimbledon final.

“The main reason I had cramp was the tension that I had facing Novak in the semi-final of a Grand Slam. I'm sure the experience is a really important part of that,” he said.

“I learnt a lot from that match to the next time I'm going to face Novak. It's going to be different for me. I'm going to deal with the pressure better than I did in the French Open.

“I can't play with that tension. As I said, it's going to be different the next time.”

Alcaraz will now face the winner of the all-French tie between Alexandre Muller and Arthur Rinderknech.

Also, two-time champion Andy Murray eased past fellow Briton Ryan Peniston in straight sets to reach the Wimbledon second round.

Former world No1 Murray, who won his first Wimbledon title in 2013 before adding a second three years later, came through 6-3, 6-0, 6-1.

Now ranked at 40, and playing with a metal hip, the 36-year-old had too much power and finesse for wildcard Peniston, the world No 268.

"It's amazing to be back on Centre Court again," said Murray.

"I started off quite nervously, I was a little bit tentative but once I got a break I played some good stuff. There were good signs."