Carlos Alcaraz starts Wimbledon title defence with straight-sets victory on Centre Court

Lajal, also 21 but ranked 266 places lower than Alcaraz, sported dreadlocks pulled back in a pineapple-style ponytail on his Wimbledon debut.

He took a chunk out of the three-time grand slam winner with a break of serve in the opening set.

But Alcaraz, who last month added the French Open to his Wimbledon and US Open titles, hit straight back and then eased through the gears.

"He played a really good match," said Alcaraz. "Obviously he surprised me a little bit because I hadn‘t seen him too much.

"He's young, he's my age and I'm sure I'm going to see him really soon on the tour and play him more often.

"But I'm really happy to get through and get my first win on Centre Court this year."