Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz both had victories in the first round of the French Open.
Djokovic, aiming for a record 23rd Grand Slam title, defeated Aleksandar Kovacic in straight sets, maintaining his unbeaten record in opening matches at majors since 2006. Despite being the third seed this year, Djokovic is a strong contender. In the second round, he will face Martin Foxx. Meanwhile, Alcaraz, top seed and favorite to win in the absence of Rafael Nadal, showed his talent with a stunning victory over Flavio Cobolli.
The 20-year-old Spaniard played brilliantly and won the match comfortably, although he faced some challenges in the third set. If both players advance, Alcaraz will face Djokovic in the semifinals.
In other matches, Canadian 10th seed Felix Auger-Iliasime suffered a disappointing straight sets loss to Fabio Fognini, marking his third first-round defeat at Roland Garros. British 14th seed Cameron Norrie booked his place in the next round with a five-set thriller against Benoit Perret.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka defeated Albert Ramos-Venolas in a hard-fought five-set clash to set up a clash with Thanasi Kokkinakis. Zhang Zhizhen made history as the first Chinese man to win a main draw match at the French Open since 1937 when his opponent, Dusan Lajovic, retired injured.
In the women’s draw, Elina Svitolina celebrated her first win at a Grand Slam event since the 2022 Australian Open, defeating Martina Trevisan in straight sets. Svitolina, who recently returned to the tour after a hiatus due to health problems and mental exhaustion, was delighted with the victory.
French fifth seed Caroline Garcia delighted the home crowd with a hard-fought win over Wang Xiu, while Sylvain Stephens beat 16th seed Karolina Pliskova in straight sets. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, the 2021 finalist, scored a stunning victory against Linda Fruhvirtova.
As the tournament progresses, tennis fans eagerly await the next matches, hoping for more thrilling performances and surprising upsets.
