Alcaraz on track at French Open after ‘roller-coaster year'
Carlos Alcaraz celebrates winning a point to Giulio Zeppieri during their first round match. (AP pic)
PARIS : Reigning champion Carlos Alcaraz said he was 'on a good path' following a 'roller-coaster' start to the season after kicking off his French Open campaign with a commanding victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri on Monday.
The Spaniard struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over world number 310 Zeppieri and will face Hungary's Fabian Marozsan in round two.
Alcaraz is the title favourite at Roland Garros after winning both the Monte Carlo Masters and Italian Open trophies this year on clay.
He has suffered some surprise defeats in 2024 as well, though, including to Holger Rune in the Barcelona Open final, Jack Draper in the Indian Wells semi-finals and against David Goffin in his opening match in Miami.
'So far, it's been a roller-coaster, let's say,' Alcaraz said.
'But, 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.'
The four-time Grand Slam champion saved all three of the break points he faced against Zeppieri on Court Suzanne Lenglen as he cruised through in second gear.
Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic.
The 22-year-old was in attendance on Sunday as Court Philippe Chatrier waved an emotional goodbye to the retired Rafael Nadal.
Alcaraz has long been expected to take on the mantle of his illustrious compatriot, but says he finds it hard to fathom how Nadal won a record 14 French Open titles.
'It's something you can't think about… Just one man in the planet was able to do it, and I can't imagine,' said the second seed.
'It was emotional yesterday, seeing him saying goodbye in the way he did yesterday was unbelievable.'
Alcaraz beat world number 56 Marozsan at Indian Wells last year but lost their only previous meeting on clay at the 2023 Italian Open.
'I study my opponents a little bit. I know that Fabian likes to hit drop shots. So, probably, I'll put extra focus on that. I'm going to be ready for that… It's gonna be a dropshot battle, I guess.'
Witness football history in Malaysia as Manchester United take on the Asean All-Stars – it's the clash you can't afford to miss. Book your seat now at myticketempire.com/manumy before they're gone!
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Star
2 hours ago
- The Star
Golf-McIlroy hits reset button ahead of U.S. Open
Jun 10, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Rory McIlroy reacts on the tenth green during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images OAKMONT, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -Rory McIlroy conceded on Tuesday that he did not know how hard it would be to stay motivated after completing a long-sought career Grand Slam at the Masters in April but hopes to hit the reset button in time for this week's U.S. Open. McIlroy, speaking to reporters at Oakmont Country Club ahead of Thursday's opening round, has struggled since the Masters and will need to rediscover both his hunger and form off the tee if he hopes to be in the mix at the year's third major. "I've always been a player that struggles to play after a big event, after I win whatever tournament," said McIlroy. "I always struggle to show up with motivation the next week because you've just accomplished something and you want to enjoy it and you want to sort of relish the fact that you've achieved a goal. "Chasing a certain goal for the better part of a decade and a half, I think I'm allowed a little bit of time to relax a little bit. But here at Oakmont, I certainly can't relax this week." In his last two starts, McIlroy finished 47th at Quail Hollow for the PGA Championship, where he struggled off the tee using a backup driver after his preferred one was deemed non-conforming, and missed the cut last week in Canada. While his recent results are well below the five-times major champion's expectations, McIlroy knows they came while he was enjoying the fruits of his labour and also feels they ultimately serve a purpose. "Weeks like Quail Hollow or even weeks like last week, it makes it easier to reset in some way, to be like, okay, I sort of need to get my stuff together here and get back to the process and sort of what I'd been doing for that seven months from October last year until April this year," said McIlroy. The Northern Irishman, like everyone in the 156-player field this week, will have his work cut out for him at Oakmont given errant tee shots on the par-70 layout will be swallowed up by penal rough. During his media availability, McIlroy said he shot an 81 last week at Oakmont after birdies on the final two holes. "It felt pretty good. It didn't feel like I played that bad," said McIlroy. (Reporting by Frank PingueEditing by Christian Radnedge)
The Star
5 hours ago
- The Star
From clay to spray: Nadal's team leads electric charge on Adriatic waves
(Reuters) -As Rafa Nadal gets used life after tennis, he has let go of his racquets to spend time on the Adriatic waves, steering his Team Rafa into electric powerboat racing's E1 World Championship in Dubrovnik. Days after the retired 14-times Roland Garros champion was immortalised at the French Open with a permanent footprint on centre court's famed red clay, the Spaniard's racing team tops a tightly contested series heading into the Croatian round, following a dramatic victory last time out in Doha. Team Rafa currently leads the standings following success in Doha, as the electric boat racing series begins its European leg on June 13-14 along Croatia's coast. The tennis great's boat is piloted by Spanish professional jet ski racer Cristina Lazarrage and Frenchman Tom Chiappe. The E1 World Championship is the first all-electric raceboat series sanctioned by powerboating's global governing body, the Union Internationale Motonautique (UIM), and is designed to accelerate innovation in sustainable marine technology and coastal conservation. Teams featuring both male and female pilots compete in electric-powered RaceBird boats, racing through urban water circuits in iconic global cities. Celebrity owners include LeBron James, Tom Brady, Virat Kohli and Didier Drogba as well as 22-times Grand Slam champion Nadal. The championship continues to Lake Maggiore and Monaco before concluding in Miami, where "Champions of the Water" will be crowned on Nov. 8. (Writing by Ossian Shine, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
The Star
6 hours ago
- The Star
Golf-DeChambeau gets early morning start for U.S. Open title defence
Jun 9, 2025; Oakmont, Pennsylvania, USA; Bryson DeChambeau putts on the practice green during a practice round for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images OAKMONT, Pennsylvania (Reuters) -Bryson DeChambeau will launch his U.S. Open title defence on Thursday alongside Xander Schauffele and Spain's Jose Luis Ballester Barrio while Scottie Scheffler will head out in the afternoon wave at Oakmont Country Club. DeChambeau's group will start from the first tee at 7:29 a.m. ET (1129 GMT) and be followed around the challenging par-70 layout by a threesome comprised of past U.S. Open champions Matt Fitzpatrick, Wyndham Clark and Gary Woodland. Since joining LIV Golf in June 2022, DeChambeau has recorded seven top-10 finishes in 12 majors, including last year's U.S. Open triumph at Pinehurst. He now looks to become the event's first repeat winner since Brooks Koepka in 2018. Red-hot world number one Scheffler, who counts the PGA Championship among his three wins in his last four starts, will also start from the first tee at 1:25 p.m. ET in the company of Collin Morikawa and Viktor Hovland. Rory McIlroy, who completed the career Grand Slam at the Masters but finished well out of contention at the PGA Championship, will head out from the 10th tee at 7:40 a.m. ET in the company of Shane Lowry and Justin Rose. Phil Mickelson, U.S. Open runner-up a record six times and needing a win this week to complete the career Grand Slam, will start from the 10th tee alongside Cameron Smith and Brian Harman at 8:02 a.m. ET. Dustin Johnson, who won the U.S. Open when it was last held at Oakmont in 2016, was placed in a high-profile group with Jordan Spieth and Jon Rahm and will head out from the 10th tee at 1:14 p.m. ET. Amateur Matt Vogt, a 34-year-old dentist and former Oakmont caddie who qualified to play in the year's third major last week, will hit the tournament's opening shot from the first tee at 6:45 a.m. ET. (Reporting by Frank Pingue, editing by Ed Osmond)
