Roland Garros: Alcaraz starts strong to enter second round in Paris

Carlos Alcaraz laid down an early statement to his rivals Sunday at Roland Garros, where the third seed cruised to an opening victory against J.J. 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 in his on-court interview. “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 quarter-final 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 Lexus ATP Head2Head 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. “I think I did really good preparations these past two weeks before coming to Paris. I practised this week with top players and I felt really good moving, hitting the ball. My forearm is getting better and better, and it is something good for me.”

A semi-finalist at Roland Garros last year, Alcaraz next prepares for a second-round match against Dutch qualifier Jesper De Jong, who defeated Jack Draper 7-5, 6-4, 6-7(3), 3-6, 6-3 in Paris. The 21-year-old Alcaraz is aiming to win a Grand Slam tournament for the third consecutive season after he lifted his first two major crowns at the US Open in 2022 and Wimbledon in 2023.