| Dates: May 28 – June 11 Premises: Roland Garros, Paris |
| Reception: Live text and radio commentary on selected matches on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra, on the BBC Sport website and app |
Novak Djokovic kicked off his campaign for a record 23rd Grand Slam men’s singles title with a win, while world number one Carlos Alcaraz also advanced to the second round at Roland Garros.
Djokovic, the two-time champion in Paris, took a straight 6-3 6-2 7-6 (7-1) win over Aleksandar Kovacevic.
US Open champion Alcaraz also went in straight sets, beating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli 6-0, 6-2, 7-5.
They are both in the same half of the draw and could meet in the semi-finals.
Spain’s Alcaraz made it through the first two sets before finally scoring their fifth match point after Cobolli threatened to force a fourth set.
The 20-year-old will then face Japan’s Taro Daniel as he continues his bid for a second major title.
Asked about his approach to the sport after Greece’s fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas described him as “a breath of fresh air” yesterday, Alcaraz said: “I heard Stefanos said he started enjoying tennis more because of me.
“For me, the most important thing is having fun and smiling on the court.”
Djokovic was forced to play a tie-break in the third set against Kovacevic, who is ranked 114th, after being broken while serving in the match in Game 10.
This came after the crowd booed his joy as he broke against the American midway through the set.
“I played well in the first two sets, but then I missed opportunities and lost my focus a bit,” said Djokovic, who will face Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics next.
“But it also shows Alex’s level, which was getting better and better. When you get to a Grand Slam, it’s not the opponent who gives you the win, you have to earn it.”
Elsewhere on the second day, in Canada Happy Auger – also he became the first male top-ten seed to leave a clay major.
The 10th seed lost 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to Italy’s Fabio Fognini in his fourth first round loss at Roland Garros in five years.
However, there was no victory for another Canadian like Denis Shapovalov defeated American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.
US 12th Francis Tiafoe advanced with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 win over Serbian Filip Krajinovic as well as wins for the top 20 seeds Alex de Minaur AND Roberto Bautista Agut.
Australian 18th From Minaur she defeated Belarusian Ilya Ivashka in four sets, while the Spanish was ranked 19th Baptist Agut won 7:6 (7:4), 6:1, 6:1 against Chinese Wu Yibing.
Stan Wawrinkathe 2015 Swiss champion, lost a 200 lead over Spaniard Albert Ramos-Vinolas before deciding the victory 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 6-7 (2-7) 1-6 6-4.
