Carlos Alcaraz won his opening match at the 2024 Paris Masters, beating Nicolas Jarry in two sets.
The young Spaniard returned to the city, where he experienced many different emotions this year. First, he won the Roland Garros title, lifting his third Grand Slam title overall.
However, only a few weeks later, Alcaraz lost in the Olympic final to Novak Djokovic, a match after which he couldn't help but start crying during an interview.
Now, he didn't have to play on the clay courts at Roland Garros, as it would be quite cold to do so. Instead, the players are inside an arena in Bercy, competing in the last ATP Masters 1000 tournament of the season.
The World No. 2 player was given a relatively playable draw, but there are no easy opponents at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, and that proved also in this match in the French capital.
Nicolas Jarry is a challenging opponent, especially in fast indoor conditions, given the strength of his serve. He showed that he is a capable server in this match, but surprisingly, Alcaraz hit more aces, and he also significantly improved in one statistic that he usually struggles with.
The Spaniard started by winning the first game of the set without losing a point, and Jarry almost returned the favor in the second game, leading 40-0 on his serve. Shockingly, Alcaraz was able to win five points in a row to break his opponent's serve and lead 2-0 in the opening set of the match.
He then held his serve and increased the lead to 3-0. However, a couple of games later, Alcaraz had to save a break point, but he did, maintaining his lead. But when serving for the set a few games later, the second seed couldn't do the same thing.
The four-time Grand Slam champion faced yet another break point, but this time, he wasn't able to save it. That meant Jarry got back into the match, leveling the score in the first set at 5-5.
However, the Chilean got himself under pressure when serving to send the first set into the tie-break. He faced two break points, and despite saving the first one, he served a double fault on the second one, losing the set 5-7.
After winning the first set, Alcaraz's confidence exploded, even though he faced two break points in the first game. He saved both, and after Jarry won his service game after that, it was a show of one man in Paris.
Alcaraz won five consecutive games, converting break points in two games and saving break points in two games as well. That resulted in a simple 7-5, 6-1 win to reach the third round of the 2024 Paris Masters.
During the win, Alcaraz converted four out of five break points that he had, a very high rate, which is a rarity for him, as he usually struggles on break points. On top of that, he also hit nine aces in the match, which helped him to hold his serve easily.
In the next round, the Spaniard will take on the winner of the match between the 15th-seeded Ugo Humbert and Marcos Giron.