Alcaraz wins Wimbledon opener as Murray wants closure [Video]

Carlos Alcaraz defeated 269th-ranked qualifier Mark Lajal at the start of his Wimbledon title defence on Monday as Andy Murray decided whether or not to call a halt to his All England Club singles career.

As action got under way, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka was heading home after withdrawing from the tournament with a shoulder injury.

Alcaraz, still only 21, is chasing his fourth Grand Slam title and hopes to become just the sixth man after Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic to win the French Open and Wimbledon back-to-back.

Opening the Centre Court programme, the Spanish star recovered from a break down in each of the first two sets to see off the dreadlocked Lajal 7-6 (7/3), 7-5, 6-2.

“He played a really good match, he obviously surprised me a little bit because I didn’t have the chance to see him play a …