PARIS (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz made a confident start at the French Open on Sunday, overwhelming J.J. Wolf 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.
It was the Spaniard’s first win since coming back from the right forearm injury that sidelined him for almost a month.
“I’m almost at 100% of my abilities,” Alcaraz said after his first-round win. “After the match, I didn’t feel anything.”
In the women’s draw, 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 pretty nervous and got really tight,” said the No. 134-ranked Osaka of her hard-fought victory during an on-court interview.
Osaka secured her first victory in a Grand Slam tournament since 2022. She made her comeback in January after a maternity leave.
Osaka advanced to what could be a matchup against No. 1 Iga Swiatek, the three-time French Open winner and defending champion who plays her first-round match Monday.
“I think it’s an honor to play her in the French Open because she’s won here more than once”, Osaka said when asked about the prospect of playing Swiatek.
No. 48-ranked Bronzetti has never won at Roland Garros in three appearances. Her career record in Grand Slam tournaments is 3-10. In her most recent match at the Morocco Open quarterfinals last week, she led American Peyton Stearns 5-0 in the third set but ended up losing.
Elsewhere, No. 30 Dayana Yastremska eliminated Ajla Tomljanovic while Lesia Tsurenko forfeited after playing less than a set against Donna Vekic because of a back problem.
In the men’s draw, No. 6 Andrey Rublev defeated Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5. Rublev showed some frustration during his match, throwing his racket at one stage.
Lorenzo Sonego stunned No. 17 Ugo Humbert 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Humbert was the highest-ranked Frenchman in the tournament.
Hubert Hurkacz beat Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, and Grigor Dimitrov routed Aleksandar Kovacevic in three sets. Brandon Nakashima also won.
Play was interrupted for a little more than an hour on all 18 clay courts because of rain, except for the two largest equipped with retractable roofs. Court Philippe Chatrier has had a roof since 2020, while the roof on Court Suzanne Lenglen was inaugurated Sunday.
Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, who own three Slam titles each, face each other later Sunday.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
