Carlos Alcaraz was superb in his first match at the 2023 Roland Garros, defeating Flavio Cobolli in straight sets.
The young Spaniard entered the second Grand Slam of the season as the biggest favourite and he also entered it as the top-seeded player and the world no. 1. Prior to the tournament, Alcaraz's coach Juan Carlos Ferrero calmed expectations of the fans, saying that everyone can lose in the first round.
But the 20-year-old wanted to avoid that, but so did his first-round opponent 21-year-old Flavio Cobolli from Italy. The two never met before on the ATP Tour, with their first match being played on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
While according to Marion Bartoli, the Spaniard isn't an overwhelming favourite, others had different opinions. Mats Wilander said that Alcaraz is the most exciting player that has ever walked on a tennis court and in the first round of the Roland Garros, Alcaraz confirmed the words of the former Swedish player rather than the former French star.
It was obvious that the Italian qualifier was nervous in the first set, and he was also trying to be aggressive and don't give his opponent any extra time. However, that resulted only in one winner and 12 unforced errors.
On the other hand, Alcaraz hit five winners and he was dominant on his own serve. After losing only three points when serving in the first set, the Spaniard 'bageled' his opponent to start his 2023 Roland Garros campaign, winning the first set 6-0 in only 25 minutes.
The second set was also a quick one but already in the third game, Cobolli managed to win his first game in the match. However, by then, he was already down by one break, and after his opponent added another one in the seventh game, the score of the match was already two sets to love for the Spanish prodigy.
But the Italian didn't want to go down without a fight and he showed that in the third set. He had multiple break points throughout the set, but still, Alcaraz broke first, when he used his fourth chance of the set in the seventh game.
Yet, that didn't have to be enough for the Spaniard. He had three match points in the ninth game, but Cobolli pulled out a few magical shots, winning seven rallies in a row and having a chance to break back in the tenth game.
After the 20-year-old saved the first break point, Cobolli used the other one, breaking the Spaniard for the first time in the match and leveling the score in the third set. But Alcaraz soon showed why he's the top favourite at the event as he was able to break again and win the match 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.
Alcaraz will now focus on his second-round match against Taro Daniel from Japan. The world no. 112 was also dominant in his first round, beating Christopher O'Connell 6-0, 6-2, 6-4.
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