Fifth seeds Daniil Medvedev and Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria and three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland also won their first round matches and advanced to the next stage.
Opening play on center court as the defending champion, Alcaraz looked comfortable for long periods in an environment of which he has fond memories. The Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets in the championship match last year to win his first Wimbledon title and looked relaxed as he took the court for his first head-to-head ATP showdown with Lajal.
In a two-hour, 22-minute battle, Alcaraz used his drop shot to great effect, as he treated the packed crowd to several explosive groundstrokes to set up a second-round encounter with Mallorca finalist Sebastian Ofner or Australian Aleksandar Vukic .
The No. 3 ATP Rankings became the youngest player in history to win a major on all three surfaces when he triumphed at Roland Garros last month. Alcaraz then won his first match of the year on grass against Francisco Cerundolo at Queen's before British number one Jack Draper defeated him in the second round.
However, the Spaniard dispelled any doubts on grass against Lajal, hitting 43 winners to extend his perfect record to 7-0 against ranked players in majors.
Lajal is ranked 269 in the ATP Rankings, but put in an impressive performance in his Grand Slam debut. The 21-year-old, who admitted he started shouting after learning he had drawn with Alcaraz in the first round, was only the fifth Estonian man to play at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz would play either Borna Coric or Frances Tiafoe in the third round if he advances to the second round. Croatian Coric beat Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3, while Tiafoe scored a thrilling 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Comeback victory against Matteo Arnaldi. It is the first time that the American has recovered from two sets down in his career.
Medvedev breaks through
Medvedev advanced to the second round in less than two hours when he won on his favorite No. 1 court, beating Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Medvedev, a 20-time tour champion, is now 6-0 in first-round matches at Wimbledon, but it was his another perfect record at SW19 that he was most eager to discuss in his post-match interview.
The No. 5 in the ATP Rankings will face Alexandre Muller, who defeated qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(5). He will hope to handle any difficult moments as calmly as he did against Kovacevic: Medvedev crucially capitalized on the only break point of the second set to take control of the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash.
If Medvedev reaches the third round, he would face 32nd seed Zhang Zhizhen or Jan-Lennard Struff. Zhang defeated French qualifier Maxime Janvier 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 in his first match, while Struff defeated Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6- 3.
Tenth seed Dimitrov beat Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 45 minutes, while Wawrinka, who had the best result in reaching the quarter-finals here, defeated Britain's Charles Broom 6-3, 7. -5, 6-4 in one hour 50 minutes.
Opening play on center court as the defending champion, Alcaraz looked comfortable for long periods in an environment of which he has fond memories. The Spaniard defeated Novak Djokovic in five sets in the championship match last year to win his first Wimbledon title and looked relaxed as he took the court for his first head-to-head ATP showdown with Lajal.
In a two-hour, 22-minute battle, Alcaraz used his drop shot to great effect, as he treated the packed crowd to several explosive groundstrokes to set up a second-round encounter with Mallorca finalist Sebastian Ofner or Australian Aleksandar Vukic .
The No. 3 ATP Rankings became the youngest player in history to win a major on all three surfaces when he triumphed at Roland Garros last month. Alcaraz then won his first match of the year on grass against Francisco Cerundolo at Queen's before British number one Jack Draper defeated him in the second round.
However, the Spaniard dispelled any doubts on grass against Lajal, hitting 43 winners to extend his perfect record to 7-0 against ranked players in majors.
Lajal is ranked 269 in the ATP Rankings, but put in an impressive performance in his Grand Slam debut. The 21-year-old, who admitted he started shouting after learning he had drawn with Alcaraz in the first round, was only the fifth Estonian man to play at Wimbledon.
Alcaraz would play either Borna Coric or Frances Tiafoe in the third round if he advances to the second round. Croatian Coric beat Brazilian Felipe Meligeni Alves 6-3, 7-6(2), 6-3, while Tiafoe scored a thrilling 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-1, 6-3, 6-3. Comeback victory against Matteo Arnaldi. It is the first time that the American has recovered from two sets down in his career.
Medvedev breaks through
Medvedev advanced to the second round in less than two hours when he won on his favorite No. 1 court, beating Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-4, 6-2.
Medvedev, a 20-time tour champion, is now 6-0 in first-round matches at Wimbledon, but it was his another perfect record at SW19 that he was most eager to discuss in his post-match interview.
The No. 5 in the ATP Rankings will face Alexandre Muller, who defeated qualifier Hugo Gaston 6-4, 7-6(2), 7-6(5). He will hope to handle any difficult moments as calmly as he did against Kovacevic: Medvedev crucially capitalized on the only break point of the second set to take control of the pair's first Lexus ATP Head2Head clash.
If Medvedev reaches the third round, he would face 32nd seed Zhang Zhizhen or Jan-Lennard Struff. Zhang defeated French qualifier Maxime Janvier 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 in his first match, while Struff defeated Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6- 3.
Tenth seed Dimitrov beat Dusan Lajovic 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 45 minutes, while Wawrinka, who had the best result in reaching the quarter-finals here, defeated Britain's Charles Broom 6-3, 7. -5, 6-4 in one hour 50 minutes.
