Carlos Alcaraz celebrates during his Wimbledon first round win over Fabio Fognini

London (AFP) - Carlos Alcaraz survived a major scare in his Wimbledon opener against Italian veteran Fabio Fognini on Monday before coming through in five sets to launch his bid for a third straight title at the All England Club.

Alcaraz battled to a 7-5, 6-7 (⁵⁄₇), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 win over the 38-year-old Italian in a first-round clash lasting four hours and 37 minutes in sweltering conditions on Centre Court.

It was first time since Roger Federer narrowly beat Alejandro Falla in 2010 that a defending champion had been taken to a fifth set in the Wimbledon first round.

Alcaraz shrugged off an inconsistent display including 62 unforced errors as he refused to wilt on the hottest opening day in Wimbledon history.

“First of all, 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,” Alcaraz said.

“Playing on Centre Court for the first match of any tournament is never easy. I’ve been practising pretty well and playing on grass really well, but Wimbledon is special and different.

“I could feel the difference between Wimbledon and the other tournaments. I just tried to play my best but I would say that I could play better.”

The 22-year-old secured a crucial break in the second game of the deciding set, roaring “vamos” after saving two break points in the next game.

Fognini had given Alcaraz a much sterner test than expected, but the world number 138 ran out of steam as the indefatigable Spaniard once again showcased his final set prowess.

Alcaraz has never lost in a Grand Slam first round in 18 appearances.

Having vanquished Novak Djokovic in the past two Wimbledon finals, Alcaraz is looking to join an elite group of Wimbledon icons.

His clay-court credentials are firmly established after he fought back from two sets down to beat Jannik Sinner in an epic French Open final earlier this month.

Alcaraz is equally dynamic on grass, winning 30 of his 33 Tour-level matches on the surface, with his last defeat at Wimbledon coming against Sinner in the fourth round in 2022.

He 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 Djokovic.

If he achieves that target, Alcaraz would be the second-youngest player in the Open Era to win six Grand Slam men’s titles after Borg, who reached that landmark in 1978.

He will face British qualifier Oliver Tarvet in the second round.

“He is playing great tennis on grass and if he is in the second round of Wimbledon then he is playing at a great level,” Alcaraz said.

“I will try to improve the things that didn’t work today, such as the return and the forehand. Let’s keep enjoying being at Wimbledon as well.”