Alcaraz, Gauff ease into Wimbledon 3rd round

Defending Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz made a shaky start against unseeded Australian Aleksandar Vukic but moved through the gears to seal a 7-6(5) 6-2 6-2 win and reach the third round.

Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev rallied from a set down to defeat Frenchman Alexandre Muller 6-7(3) 7-6(4) 6-4 7-5, while Italian Fabio Fognini rolled back the years to knock out eighth seed Casper Ruud 6-4 7-5 6-7(1) 6-3 and reach the third round.

The 37-year-old former top-10 player, produced his trademark brand of languid shot-making to largely dominate Ruud on Court Two.

American Frances Tiafoe also progressed to the third round after defeating Croatian Borna Coric 7-6(5) 6-1 6-3, while Christopher Eubanks, who reached the quarter-finals last year, suffered a 6-4 6-4 6-2 loss to Frenchman Quentin Halys.

In the women's competition, second seed Coco Gauff, secured a 6-2 6-1 victory over 19-year-old Romanian qualifier Anca Todoni to reach the third round.

The US Open Champion will next face qualifier Sonay Kartal, who wowed the home crowd with a 6-3 5-7 6-3 victory over France's Clara Burel, ranked 253 places above her.

Home favourite Emma Raducanu also stormed into the third round with a 6-1 6-2 thrashing of Belgian Elise Mertens.

Former Ukrainian world number three Elina Svitolina, a semi-finalist last year, booked her place in the second round with a 7-5 6-7(9) 6-3 win over Magda Linette of Poland.

Elsewhere, former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu grabbed a 6-3 7-6(5) win over Czech teenager Linda Noskova in the second round, while 11th seed Danielle Collins beat Clara Tauson of Denmark 6-3 7-6(4) to advance to the second round.

The 30-year-old former Australian Open runner-up announced in January she would be quitting the sport in 2024.