Paris: Carlos Alcaraz, a Spanish superstar, started his championship defense in great fashion, defeating Giulio Zeppieri in a decisive win on Monday at the French Open.
The young Spaniard made a strong start, defeating the Italian 63, 64, 62 on the clay court in a match that lasted one hour and 56 minutes.
Following his recent victory, Alcaraz, who is on track to become the first player to successfully defend the title in Paris since Rafael Nadal in 201920, now has 16 of his 17 tour-level matches on clay this year.
It was extremely, really robust. The opening round of the event is usually difficult, and returning as the defending champion may be even harder. But I began well and maintained a steady tempo throughout the entire encounter, Alcaraz told ATP.
Alcaraz was quick off the blocks and got off to a spectacular start, hitting a slew of superb passing shots from all corners of the court.
One element of his game that stood out was when he moved towards the net. He kept up the pace throughout the contest, winning comfortably. Alcaraz will play Fabian Marozsan in the second round on Wednesday.
I attempted to focus on my game, to establish a solid rhythm. I'm extremely pleased with my start here at Roland Garros, where I was very delighted to play my first match this year, he said.
Since last May, Alcaraz has a 282 record on dirt. His great performance culminated with a Roland Garros championship and a silver medal finish at the Paris Olympics in 2024.
Alcaraz maintained his superb clay season this year, recording remarkable maiden victories in Monte Carlo and Rome. After the Italian Open, he knocked down World No. 1 Jannik Sinner reached the final and grabbed first place.
