Carlos Alcaraz Issues Early Warning to Rivals at French Open First Round

Key Highlights :

1. Carlos Alcaraz won the first 8 games of the match and was comfortably 2 sets up in just 52 minutes.

2. In the first set alone, he allowed his overwhelmed opponent a meagre 10 points.

3. The 20-year-old has already cemented his status as a top contender on the biggest stages and is one of the favourites to take on the mantle of his compatriot and 14-times Roland Garros champion Rafa Nadal, who is absent this year with a hip issue.

4. Next up for Alcaraz is a clash with Japan’s Taro Daniel for a place in the last 32.

     World number one Carlos Alcaraz issued an early warning to his rivals as he began his quest for a second Grand Slam title by beating Flavio Cobolli in the French Open first round on Monday. The 20-year-old Spaniard swept to a 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 win over his 159th-ranked opponent, and admitted he felt “invincible" at times during the match.

     Alcaraz is one of the favourites to take on the mantle of his compatriot and 14-times Roland Garros champion Rafa Nadal, who is absent this year with a hip issue. The Spaniard won the first eight games of Monday’s match and was comfortably two sets up in just 52 minutes. His opponent, Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli, was unable to take advantage of two break points in the sixth game and saw four match points slip away as he briefly rallied in the third set. However, Alcaraz eventually wrapped up the tie on a fifth match point in the 12th game.

     The 20-year-old has already cemented his status as a top contender on the biggest stages, having won the US Open last year. He is the youngest top seed at Roland Garros since Bjorn Borg in 1976. Alcaraz’s next opponent is Japan’s Taro Daniel, ranked 112, who enjoyed his best Slam at the Australian Open in 2022 where he defeated former world number one Andy Murray in the round of 64. Daniel has also flourished on hard courts this year — reaching the quarter-finals in Acapulco and second round from qualifying at Indian Wells and Miami.

     Alcaraz is aware that he will have to be prepared for a tough match against Daniel. “I know the level of Taro, so it’s going to be a really tough second round, really tough match," he said. “So I have to be ready for that, and I have to be prepared for a really tough one."

     Despite the difficult challenge ahead of him, Alcaraz has sent out an early warning to his rivals as he looks to add another Grand Slam title to his impressive list of achievements. With his impressive performance against Cobolli, the Spaniard has demonstrated that he is a force to be reckoned with on the biggest stages.

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