Carlos Alcaraz and Iga Swiatek make strong start at French Open

The National

26-05-2025

Carlos Alcaraz powered into the French Open second round on Monday with a resounding win to start his title defence, while three-time defending women's champion Iga Swiatek also eased through at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and will face Hungary's Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open, having taken Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. 'The first round is never easy, and coming here as a champion is even more difficult,' said the Spaniard, who has won both the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open titles on clay this year. 'But I started well, found my rhythm, and I'm happy with my start.' 'Right now I think I found a really good path again, and I'm trying to have a really good level during the whole tournament or even during the whole match. 'So I think I'm just starting to get it, feeling more comfortable approaching the matches. Once I start the matches, I think I'm just keeping the high level in the whole match and during the whole tournament.' USA's Taylor Fritz became the first high-profile casualty in the men's draw as the fourth seed lost 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 6-1 to German Daniel Altmaier. Norwegian seventh seed Casper Ruud, a two-time French Open runner-up, started his bid for a first Grand Slam crown under way with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over veteran Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas. In the women's section, Swiatek said last year's Olympic loss proved she is not unbeatable at Roland Garros, as she launched her bid for a fourth straight title with a 6-3, 6-3 win over Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova. Swiatek extended her winning run at the French Open to 22 matches, but she has dropped to fifth in the world after a year-long trophy drought and has looked unusually vulnerable on clay lately. The 23-year-old has yet to reach a final this season and is no longer the overwhelming favourite at a tournament she has dominated since capturing the trophy for the first time as a teenager in 2020. Asked whether stepping on to the main Phillipe Chatrier court filled her the same sense of invincibility as it did for Rafael Nadal, Swiatek pointed to her straight-sets defeat by Zheng Qinwen at the 2024 Paris Olympics. 'No, I mean, I literally lost a match in the Olympics, so it's not like you can't lose,' she said. 'But for sure I feel a lot of good energy, and I feel like I'm ready to fight. I am willing to fight, and it's great to be pumped up before the match because of that, so I'm using it, for sure.' Swiatek faces Britain's Emma Raducanu in the second round after the Briton overcame China's Wang Xinyu in three sets in her first match at the French Open since her debut in 2022. But Raducanu, making only her second appearance at the tournament, needed a lengthy medical timeout before coming through after a gruelling match that lasted two hours and 44 minutes. 'I don't feel great, I was struggling from the start,' she said. 'I can take positives in the fact a lot of top players, in the first round, have struggled but got through and given themselves another opportunity. My heart and fight came through today and I'm very proud of that.' Meanwhile, Egypt's Mayar Sherif lost in the opening round after being beaten in straight-sets against Liudmila Samsonova. Sherif took the opener to a tie break before losing the contest 7-6, 6-2.