Alcaraz hits the ground running

Paris, May 26

Carlos Alcaraz laid down an early statement to his rivals at Roland Garros, where the third seed cruised to an opening victory against JJ Wolf.

Alcaraz wrapped a 6-1 6-2 6-1 triumph in just one hour, 51 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The Spaniard’s routine win at the clay-court Major will be a confidence booster for a player who had not competed for more than three weeks due to a right forearm injury.

“I’m really happy to be back, to be back here in Paris, to be back competing again,” said Alcaraz. “It’s been a really difficult month for me. I love competing, I love playing tennis, and to stay away from that was hurtful for me. I tried everything I could do to be at my 100 per cent here in Paris, to show my best tennis, and I think I did it today.”

Alcaraz said he was forced to hold back on his forehand during his quarterfinal run in Madrid at the start of the month, and he later withdrew from another ATP Masters 1000 event in Rome due to the arm injury. Against Wolf, however, Alcaraz most definitely did not hold back with his groundstrokes, and he deployed his trademark heavy forehand to great effect throughout the pair’s maiden meeting. “I would have loved to have played more matches (this month), but I don’t think I need too many matches to get to 100 per cent,” said Alcaraz.

Osaka’s hard-fought win

Naomi Osaka marked her seventh appearance in Paris with a 1-6 6-4 7-5 first-round victory over Lucia Bronzetti. “There were moments I played pretty well, but I was nervous and got really tight,” Osaka said. — Agencies