Lleyton Hewitt's ignominious record as the only Wimbledon men's singles champion in the Open era to lose in the first round of their title defence was nearly erased as the 2025 championships opened with a scare for Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spanish world No.2 was forced into a marathon five-set battle by Italian veteran Fabio Fognini before winning 7-5 6-7 (5-7) 7-5 2-6 6-1.
Hewitt was beaten by the then-unknown qualifier Ivo Karlovic in 2003. The Croatian later rose to No.14 in the world but was at the time ranked 203rd and Hewitt admitted he had never seen him play.
