Carlos Alcaraz won his first match at the Paris Masters in straight sets against Nicolas Jarry, but he acknowledged the opening set got complicated.
Jarry shocked Alcaraz on clay at the Argentina Open in Buenos Aires earlier in the season, meaning the Spaniard was undoubtedly not taking anything for granted before his meeting against him at the Paris Masters.
The Chilean has one of the most powerful serves on the ATP Tour, which could have made him dangerous on the very quick courts at this year's Masters 1000 tournament in the French capital.
Alcaraz also failed to win a match at last year's Paris Masters. He was stunned by Roman Saifullin in straight sets. The world No. 2 made an uncharacteristic number of unforced errors in that contest.
However, Alcaraz spoke before the tournament of his confidence about this year being different He admitted that tiredness impacted him last year, but the 21-year-old felt better heading into the 2024 Paris Masters.
The four-time Grand Slam champion proved that by beating Jarry in the opening round, avoiding a repeat of the upset in Buenos Aires in February. He prevailed 7-5, 6-1 on Centre Court.
Alcaraz had to navigate what turned out to be a trickier-than-anticipated first set. He allowed Jarry back into the set after being broken unexpectedly while serving for it but ultimately recovered.
Speaking to the ATP afterward, Alcaraz admitted things became complicated in the opening set but was happy overall with his performance and ability to come through against an opponent he lost to earlier in the season.
"In the first set I think I played really good tennis, but in the end of the second it got complicated a little bit. But yes, really happy to get through in the first set, it was a really important set for me I guess, just to come into the second set with more confidence."
Alcaraz stated he needed some time to get used to the speedy courts at the Paris Masters, which the Spaniard has also called slippery.
"I think I have to have time to get used to this court's speed, and just really happy. It had been two years that I didn't win here at the Paris Bercy, so every time that I can keep going in this tournament is a gift for me."
"Honestly it's really fast, I would agree with them (his fellow players). Some players like this speed, but I think it should maybe be a little bit slower, just for the entertainment. For there people, there is going to be more rallies, more tennis to watch."
"But we are tennis players. Every week is going to be different, different courts, different conditions, different balls. At some point, it should be different, should be better, but we can't do nothing about it."
The 21-year-old is right about how fast the courts are, and it will be interesting to observe whether any players can make a shock run in Paris because of those conditions.