Carlos Alcaraz's quest for a hat-trick of Wimbledon titles got off to a rocky start as he was forced to go to five sets to beat Fabio Fognini.

Making his farewell appearance at Wimbledon, Fognini pushed the two-time reigning champion all the way in an epic encounter that lasted four hours and 37 minutes.

Fognini had the Centre Court crowd on their feet as he rolled back the years with a stellar fourth set, but Alcaraz recovered his composure to prevail 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 2-6 6-1.

Play had to be paused due to a medical incident in the crowd midway through the deciding set, but Alcaraz – who was 3-0 up at the time – did not look back after the restart, and served out a hard-earned, if not entirely convincing, victory.

18 - Carlos Alcaraz is now one of four players in the Open Era to win each of his first 18 opening Men’s Singles matches at Grand Slam events along with Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal. Rush.#Wimbledon | @Wimbledon @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/Zhp1eylXUx

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 30, 2025

Speaking to BBC Sport, Alcaraz said: "I don’t know why it’s [Fognini's] last Wimbledon, the level he’s at, he could still play for another three or four years.

"Fabio is a great player, he has had the level his whole career and once again today. I’m sad that it’s his last Wimbledon.

"Playing the first match of the tournament on Centre Court is never easy – Wimbledon is special, it’s different, and I could feel the difference between Wimbledon and other tournaments. I can be better, I have to improve."

Next up for Alcaraz is Brit Oliver Tarvet, who defeated Leandro Riedi 6-4 6-4 6-4 in his first Tour-level match.

Britain did lose a home hope in the form of Jacob Fearnley, though. He went down in straight sets to hotshot Joao Fonseca.

Earlier, Daniil Medvedev's poor form continued as the ninth seed slumped to a 7-6 (7-2) 3-6 7-6 (7-3) 6-2 defeat to Benjamin Bonzi.

Medvedev has now lost three consecutive grand slam matches for the first time in his career.

2 - Benjamin Bonzi has claimed just the second ATP top 10 win of his career, with his sole previous victory coming over Casper Ruud in Metz (R16) last year. Pair.#Wimbledon | @Wimbledon @atptour @ATPMediaInfo pic.twitter.com/XzTHBD0TCM

— OptaAce (@OptaAce) June 30, 2025

Data Debrief: Pushed all the way

For only the third time in the Open Era, the reigning singles champion was forced to play a five-setter in the opening round at Wimbledon.

Alcaraz (33 matches, 30-3) has become the fastest player to achieve 30 ATP-level match wins on grass in the Open Era, surpassing Rod Laver and Tony Roche (34 each).

The 22-year-old is now one of four players in the Open Era to win each of his first 18 opening matches at the majors, along with Arthur Ashe, Bjorn Borg and Rafael Nadal.

Alcaraz now holds a 14-1 record from his 15 grand slam five-setters, which equals the best record in the Open Era, along with Mast Wilander.