Brilliant Alcaraz, hard-working Davidovich, patient Bautista and exciting Bolsova
“In the first set I felt invincible,” said Carlitos after overwhelming Flavio Cobolli in his premiere
Four Spanish victories out of six on the second day of Roland Garros, which marked the debut of Carlos Alcaraznumber 1 in the world and one of the great favorites for the final triumph and who also experienced the victories of Alejandro Davidovich, Roberto Bautista and Aliona Bolsova.
Albert Ramos and Bernabé Zapata fellwaiting for the remaining ones to enter the fray this Tuesday, Jaume Munar, in addition to Cristina Bucsa, who has a difficult ballot against the world number 1, the Polish Iga Swiatek, Rebeka Masarova, who is measured against the finalist of the last edition, and Sara Sorribes.
Alcaraz’s victory against the Italian Flavio Cobolli, 6-0, 6-2 and 7-5, was a declaration of intent by a player who wants to lift the title and mark the spirits of his rivals. The best player of the clay season hit the table about his intentions and only in the final stretch did he leave any doubt, when it took him more time and effort than expected to close the duel against the 159th in the ranking, who was playing his first match in a Grand Slam.
At 20 years old, the youngest number 1 at Roland Garros since 1976 sent a message that the defeat in the second round of the last tournament in Rome, the third of the year, against the Hungarian Fabian Marozsan, was nothing more than an accident and he has no intention of ever allowing it to happen.
“In the first set I felt invincible”said the Spaniard, also happy to have overcome the difficulties in the third set.
This is how he climbed into the second round, a few minutes after he did it, also forcefully, the Serbian Novak Djokovicwhose trajectories intersect in the semifinals in what for many is already an early final of the tournament.
Alcaraz, who on Wednesday will face the Japanese Taro Daniel112 in the world, also saw one of his potential dangerous rivals disappear from the draw, the Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the first top-10 to fall from the men’s draw.
Davidovich had to struggle more to overcome the first roundthe same one in which he fell last year, when he arrived with the aura of a candidate for something great after having reached the quarterfinals in 2021.
The draw set a trap for him, the French Arthur Philsinvited by the organizers, only 18 years old but who has become one of the local idols after his recent triumph, last Saturday, in the Lyon final.
That forced the Spaniard to fight against a difficult opponent but also against a hostile crowd, something he noticed in the second set, which he let slip and was about to cost him more, because he was down 3-0 in the fourth.
But the Spaniard reacted well and now he will face the winner of the duel between the Frenchman Luca van Assche and the Italian Marco Cecchinato.
Bautista had patience to beat the Chinese Tibing Wuwho put up a battle in the first set, but then succumbed 7-6(4), 6-1 and 6-1, in a match that returned the Spaniard to a path of success, after an irregular season.
“This helps me a lot to start with energy, morale and confidence and makes me want to do well (…) It motivates me because it’s Roland Garros, whoever is not motivated here is strange. It is one of the most important tournaments in the world and legs go by themselves, you don’t have to force your desire, I am especially motivated,” he assured.
His next rival will be the Peruvian Juan Pablo Varillas, who defeated him last year in the Gstaad tournament and got rid of the young Chinese promise Juncheng Shang in the first round, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6- 3, 6-1, in his first Grand Slam win.
The fourth victory was signed by Bolsova, who took advantage of his rescue from the previous phasewhere she had fallen in the last match but was recalled and beat the Slovak Kristina Kucova, 6-2, 6-1 in a good match that recalled her best version, that of 2019 when she reached the round of 16.
Her next rival will be Anna Karolina Schmiedlova, also from Slovakia, who gave the surprise by beating Russian Veronika Kudermetova, eleventh seed, 6-3, 6-1.
Albert Ramos fell in a marathon for veterans against the Swiss Stan Wawrinkawhich exceeded 4 and a half hours of play after the Spaniard came back from two sets and led the match to a fifth in which he ended up defeated, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(2), 1 -6 and 6-4.
The opposite fate lived Bernabé Zapatawho had scored the first two sets against Argentine Diego Schwartzman, but was beaten in five sets, 1-6, 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-0 and 6-4.