Carlos Alcaraz Wins 1st set of Wimbledon Final against Novak Djokovic 6-2

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning against Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their men's singles semi-final tennis match on the twelfth day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2024. (AFP)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning against Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their men's singles semi-final tennis match on the twelfth day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2024. (AFP)
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Carlos Alcaraz Wins 1st set of Wimbledon Final against Novak Djokovic 6-2

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning against Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their men's singles semi-final tennis match on the twelfth day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2024. (AFP)
Spain's Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning against Russia's Daniil Medvedev during their men's singles semi-final tennis match on the twelfth day of the 2024 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in Wimbledon, southwest London, on July 12, 2024. (AFP)

Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz has taken the first set of the men's Wimbledon final against Novak Djokovic 6-2.

Alcaraz broke Djokovic in an opening game that lasted nearly 14 minutes, converting his fifth break point, and then again for a 4-1 lead when the Serb double-faulted, The AP reported.

Sunday's final at the All England Club is a rematch from last year, when Alcaraz got past Djokovic in five sets.

Kate, the Princess of Wales, was sitting in the Royal Box at Center Court, a rare public appearance after her cancer diagnosis.

The 37-year-old Djokovic is trying to win his eighth Wimbledon title to equal Roger Federer for the most by a man at the grass-court major. A victory by Djokovic would also give him 25 Grand Slam singles titles, more than any other player in tennis history.

It was only a little more than a month ago that Djokovic had surgery for a torn meniscus in his right knee after getting injured during the French Open.

The 21-year-old Alcaraz wound up winning the trophy at Roland Garros in June for his third major championship. That made him the youngest man with a Grand Slam title on grass, clay and hard courts.

Barbora Krejcikova defeated Jasmine Paolini in the Wimbledon women's final Saturday.



Bagnaia Wins Japanese Grand Prix Sprint after Leader Acosta Crashes

Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
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Bagnaia Wins Japanese Grand Prix Sprint after Leader Acosta Crashes

Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)
Ducati Lenovo Team rider Francesco Bagnaia of Italy (R) leads his teammate Enea Bastianini of Italy (L) during Tissot Sprint of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix at the Mobility Resort Motegi in Motegi, Tochigi prefecture on October 5, 2024. (AFP)

Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia won MotoGP's Japanese Grand Prix sprint on Saturday after leader Pedro Acosta crashed out with four laps to go, reducing his gap with championship leader Jorge Martin, who finished fourth, to 15 points.

Rookie Acosta, who took pole earlier in the day, had overtaken Bagnaia on the third lap to take the lead, but lost control near turn seven, losing the opportunity to win his first MotoGP sprint.

Ducati's Bagnaia, who moved to 357 points ahead of Sunday's race, fought off second-placed Enea Bastianini by 0.181 seconds amid occasional rains in Motegi to win his 16th sprint of the season.

"We had to sacrifice a bit of performance during the race to understand the conditions better... I'm very happy because with this condition it's not very easy to win," Bagnaia said in his post-sprint interview.

Pramac Racing's Martin, who started from the 11th position on the grid after crashing during the qualifying session, started well to take the fifth position in the first lap, facing pressure from Marc Marquez, who eventually overtook him.

Marquez momentarily took second place from Bastianini but the Ducati rider recovered to leave him third.

LCR Honda's Takaaki Nakagami crashed out of his home grand prix sprint after a collision with teammate Johann Zarco, while Red Bull KTM's Brad Binder, sixth in the championship, quit due to an issue with his bike.

"We´re investigating what happened to cause Brad Binder's sprint to come to a premature end," the team wrote on X. "For now, all we can do is apologize to Brad."