Carlos Alcaraz returned to the ATP action at the 2024 China Open, and he managed to beat Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in two very straightforward sets.
Last year, the young Spanaird also competed at the ATP 500 tournament in China, and after easily cruising through the first three matches, he was stopped by the eventual champion, Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the tournament.
He can be sure that won't happen this year, as they are the top two seeded players, meaning they can meet only in the final of the tournament. It would be a dream final for fans in Beijing, but both players have to win plenty of matches to find themselves there.
Sinner started first, beating Nicolas Jarry in three sets, and Alcaraz's performance was even more impressive. He started against 6' 8" (203 cm) tall Mpetshi Perricard, who tried to make his opponent's life miserable with his powerful serve.
Surprisingly, Alcaraz was able to break his opponent's serve immediately in the opening game of the match. Since then, the task was very simple for the World No. 3 player, and that was to hold his serve for the remainder of the set to win.
He did that in his first four service games, but in the fifth one, when he was serving for the set, Alcaraz ran into some problems. He was down 0-40, facing three consecutive break points, but he managed to win five points in a row to win the first set 6-4.
Mpetshi Perricard didn't learn from his first-set mistake, and he couldn't improve his serving performance in the first game of the second set. Once again, Alcaraz was just too sharp, breaking his opponent's serve yet again.
This time, however, the second seed didn't have to face a single break point, which meant that he easily beat the French player 6-4, 6-4 to reach the second round of the tournament.
Immediately after the match, the Spaniard was happy about the win, especially since he managed to break his opponent's serve in the first game of each set, which is an ideal scenario against a player like Mpetshi Perricard.
The Frenchman was serving at 149 mph (240 km/h) during the match, so the four-time major winner's tactic was very simple, as he revealed during the on-court interview, and that was to put as many returns into the court as possible.
"The plan was to put as many returns in as possible."
During the on-court interview, the Spanish prodigy was also asked about his off-court adventures in Beijing. It was thoroughly documented that he visited the Forbidden City with Coco Gauff, and he spoke about that experience after the match to the delight of the home crowd.
"It was a really good thing. Last year was my first year here in Beijing. This year I was really happy to go to the Forbidden City. It was a really cool thing to visit and see. I had the chance de to go with Coco and dress the way that I dressed."
Now, Alcaraz won't have any more time to go sightseeing in China, as he must prepare for his second-round match at the tournament. His opponent will be Tallon Griekspoor, who he bested this year at the Paris Olympics.
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