Daily Times

Carlos Alcaraz made a confident start at the French Open on Sunday, overwhelming J.J. Wolf 6-1, 6-2, 6-1.

It was the Spaniard’s first win since coming back from the right forearm injury that sidelined him for almost a month.

“I’m almost at 100% of my abilities,” Alcaraz said after his first-round win. “After the match, I didn’t feel anything.”

In the women’s draw, Naomi Osaka marked her seventh appearance in Paris with a 1-6, 6-4, 7-5 first-round victory over Lucia Bronzetti. “There were moments I played pretty well, but I was pretty nervous and got really tight,” said the No. 134-ranked Osaka of her hard-fought victory during an on-court interview. Osaka secured her first victory in a Grand Slam tournament since 2022. She made her comeback in January after a maternity leave.

Osaka advanced to what could be a matchup against No. 1 Iga Swiatek, the three-time French Open winner and defending champion who plays her first-round match Monday. “I think it´s an honor to play her in the French Open because she´s won here more than once”, Osaka said when asked about the prospect of playing Swiatek.

No. 48-ranked Bronzetti has never won at Roland Garros in three appearances. Her career record in Grand Slam tournaments is 3-10. In her most recent match at the Morocco Open quarterfinals last week, she led American Peyton Stearns 5-0 in the third set but ended up losing. Elsewhere, No. 30 Dayana Yastremska eliminated Ajla Tomljanovic while Lesia Tsurenko forfeited after playing less than a set against Donna Vekic because of a back problem. In the men’s draw, No. 6 Andrey Rublev defeated Taro Daniel 6-2, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 7-5. Rublev showed some frustration during his match, throwing his racket at one stage.

Lorenzo Sonego stunned No. 17 Ugo Humbert 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. Humbert was the highest-ranked Frenchman in the tournament.

Hubert Hurkacz beat Shintaro Mochizuki 4-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, and Grigor Dimitrov routed Aleksandar Kovacevic in three sets. Brandon Nakashima also won.

Play was interrupted for a little more than an hour on all 18 clay courts because of rain, except for the two largest equipped with retractable roofs. Court Philippe Chatrier has had a roof since 2020, while the roof on Court Suzanne Lenglen was inaugurated Sunday.

Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka, who own three Slam titles each, face each other later Sunday.