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Sinner, Alcaraz flex muscles at Roland Garros
Ian Chadband, AAP • May 27th, 2025 10:30 am
Jannik Sinner | Photo: AP
With Rafa Nadal mania having finally subsided, it was time for the great man's two potential clay-court heirs to start staking their claims to be his successor - with both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz obliging.
First up on Court Suzanne-Lenglen on Tueday (NZ time), Alcaraz, the No.2 seed, kicked off his defence with a perfectly straightforward dismissal of Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri, 6-3 6-4 6-2 in just under a couple of hours.
Then hours later in the night match on Philippe Chatrier, with the tear-flooded court by now thankfully dried after the previous day's Rafa weep-fest, it was Sinner's turn to flex his muscles - admittedly not quite as impressive as the Spaniard's - as he silenced the home fans with a 6-4 6-3 7-5 win over Arthur Rinderknech.
Sinner, the Australian and US Open champ, didn't exactly have everything his own way as he stretched his grand slam winning streak to 15 matches.
After two more-or-less perfect sets, Rinderknech got the Paris fans to fever pitch when he powered ahead into a 5-2 lead in the third set only for Sinner to inevitably move up a gear when threatened, winning five games on the bounce.
Carlos Alcaraz | Photo: AP
"I needed a test like that, and was happy with the mental strength I showed," said the Italian, who was cheered on from his players' box by Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, the Paris Saint-Germain custodian who'll be seeking to win the Champions League final against Inter Milan in Munich at the weekend.
Alcaraz, not a fan of the night sessions, was happy to kick off earlier on the No.2 Lenglen court, and was pleased with his outing.
"Really, really solid," he said.
"The first round for every tournament is never easy and probably coming here as defending champion, it could be even tougher.
"But I just started pretty well, I kept my good pace during the match, which is great. I tried to be really focused on my game.
"Hopefully I'll keep going in the next round but I'm just really, really proud about my start here in Roland Garros."
Casper Ruud also got off to a flying start, the Norwegian two-time finalist disposing of Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-3 6-4 6-2. He's on course to meet Alexei Popyrin in the third round after the Australian won his opener when Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka had to retire with injury at two sets down.
Germany's Daniel Altmaier has sprung a surprise with a first-round defeat of American Taylor Fritz | Photo: AP
The shock of the day was world No.4 Taylor Fritz being knocked out by Daniel Altmaier.
American Fritz lost 12 of the last 16 games against the German world No.47, in a 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-1 defeat.
British No.2 Jacob Fearnley enjoyed a dream French Open debut with a straight-sets win over former champion Stan Wawrinka.
Fearnley, who was just three years old when the 40-year-old Wawrinka made his first appearance at Roland Garros in 2005, won 7-6 (8-6) 6-3 6-2 in a little over two hours.
Another big hitter Stefanos Tsitsipas also earned a straight-sets win over Argentine Tomas Etcheverry to set up a second-round encounter against Italian qualifier Matteo Gigante.
French favourite Richard Gasquet's extended farewell to the place that adores the old swashbuckler goes on with a 6-2 2-6 6-3 6-0 win over his cramping compatriot Terence Atmane.
