By Howard Fendrich
Carlos Alcaraz, locked in a five-set struggle at Centre Court, looked toward his coach Monday and shouted something about how Fabio Fognini — 38 years old, retiring after this season, winless in 2025 — looked as if he could keep playing until he’s 50.
“I don’t know why it’s his last Wimbledon,” Alcaraz said later, “because the level he has shown, he can still play three or four more years. Unbelievable.”
The two-time defending champion at the All England Club needed to go through more than 4 1/2 hours of back-and-forth shifts against the much-older and much-less-accomplished Fognini before emerging with a 7-5, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 2-6, 6-1 victory in the first round.
It wasn’t supposed to be that tough.
“Didn’t expect to play five sets against him,” Fognini said. “I had my chance.”
Consider, to begin with, that the No. 2-seeded Alcaraz is 22, already a five-time Grand Slam champion,
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