Co-favorite Carlos Alcaraz prevented an early exit at the French Open with a big fight. The 19-year-old shooting star of the scene won a Spanish duel of generations against his 15-year-old compatriot Albert Ramos-Vinolas in 4:34 playing time 6: 1, 6: 7 (7: 9), 5: 7, 7: 6 ( 7: 2), 6: 4 and can continue to dream of the first Grand Slam triumph.
With four tournament victories this year, including the Masters in Miami and Madrid, and the jump to sixth place in the world rankings, the athlete from Murcia had played his way into the circle of title contenders for the most important clay court tournament. After his comfortable first round win against the Argentinian qualifier Juan Ignacio, he bit his teeth on Ramos-Vinolas for a long time and clapped his hands over his head with relief after the converted match point.
“I’m pretty tired,” said Alcaraz, who had to fend off a match point in the fourth set: “I’m so happy with my performance.”
Novak Djokovic solved his task much more confidently. The world number one and defending champion won his second round duel 6: 2, 6: 3, 7: 6 (7: 4) against Slovakian Alex Molcan and did not lose a set. The Serb ended the match after 2:16 hours. “Everything is going in the right direction,” he said afterwards.
Djokovic, who last year dethroned clay court king Rafael Nadal in the semifinals and then caught up a two-set deficit against Stefanos Tsitsipas in the final, is one of the closest circle of top favorites this year alongside tournament record winners Rafael Nadal and Alcaraz.
The season so far for the athlete from Belgrade has been anything but smooth. Due to the expulsion from the country, Djokovic missed the Australian Open and was also not allowed to compete at the Masters in Indian Wells and Miami due to his refusal to vaccinate.
His comeback in April in Monte Carlo was unsuccessful, but then the 35-year-old found his way back and made an impressive claim with his triumph at the Masters in Rome.
Now Djokovic wants to win the trophy again in Paris and catch up with record champion Nadal (21 titles) after Grand Slam titles.