French Open, day 2: Djokovic and Alcaraz don’t show any weakness, Thiem eliminated

Liveticker: Jan-Lennard Struff vs. Jiri Lehecka (Stand: 5:7, 6:1, 3:6, 6:3)

“I played the first two sets quite well, then I lost concentration a bit,” said Djokovic: “I started the tournament well and still have some room for improvement.” That certainly also applies to Alcaraz, who was clearly superior to the Italian qualification Flavio Cobolli for long stretches and won 6:0, 6:2, 7:5.

Djokovic is aiming for the third title in Roland Garros after 2016 and 2021 and, in the absence of his permanent rival Rafael Nadal, wants to become the sole record holder with 23 Grand Slam successes.

Last year Djokovic failed in the quarterfinals against Nadal. This time the 20-year-old Spaniard Alcaraz is the main competitor in the fight for the title in Roland Garros. Djokovic and Alcaraz would already meet in the semifinals.

Minutes before Djokovic’s victory, the first top ten player left the tournament. Felix Auger-Aliassime (Canada), number nine on the seed list, lost in three sets against the strong Italian Fabio Fognini. Two-time Paris finalist Dominic Thiem lost to Argentinian Pedro Cachin in five sets.

Old champion Stan Wawrinka from Switzerland, tournament winner in 2015, fought in a thriller with 7: 6 (7: 5), 6: 4, 6: 7 (2: 7), 1: 6, 6: 4 against the Spaniard Albert Ramos Vinolas by.

French Open: Altmaier on – Maria out

After Jule Niemeier, Tatjana Maria also fails at the French Open in Paris. The 35-year-old has absolutely no chance against the Brazilian Beatriz Haddad Maia. Daniel Altmaier creates the first German victory.

Daniel Altmaier pulled his headband out of his hair and waved to the audience in a relaxed manner. The 24-year-old from Kempen set the first German highlight at the French Open. Tatjana Maria, on the other hand, packed her belongings in frustration after her completely used day in Roland Garros.

Altmaier prevailed convincingly and highly concentrated 6: 3, 6: 4, 6: 4 against the Swiss Marc-Andrea Hüsler and received praise from Boris Becker. “It was not to be expected that he would win it in three sets. He did it well,” said the six-time Grand Slam winner on the Eurosport microphone.

Wimbledon semi-finalist Maria, on the other hand, suffered a severe beating the day before Alexander Zverev’s opening match in Paris. “Such a defeat always hurts. It didn’t let me get into the game at all,” said Maria after the 6-0, 6-1 defeat in a duel with Beatriz Haddad Maia from Brazil. Maria narrowly escaped the maximum penalty of going home without winning the game.

“She has to force herself to play actively and aggressively,” said national coach Barbara Rittner at Eurosport – but Maria didn’t do her the favor for the entire duration of the game. She gave away the first round in 34 minutes without a chance.

Haddad-Maia, who failed in April with the Brazilian team in the Billie Jean King Cup to Maria and Co., convinced with her body language, while Maria seemed strangely inhibited. The numerous lucky charms from their children did not help, husband and trainer Charles-Edouard shook his head in the box.

In the second set, the few spectators in 14th place hoped for a turnaround, but were disappointed. After the 35-year-old had produced two frame shots in a few seconds and seemed to completely lose interest, she at least reared up briefly before giving up the game in just 1:04 hours. Maria, who won the ATP tournament in Bogota for the second time this year, has never progressed past the second round at Roland Garros.

Oscar Otte and Jule Niemeier had already failed at their respective opening hurdles on Sunday. After a disappointing performance, the weak Cologne native had to admit defeat to Grand Slam debutant Alexander Schewtschenko from Russia in four sets – Wimbledon quarter-finalist Niemeier despaired of her serve and lost 3: 6, 4: 6 to the favorite top ten player Darya Kassatkina.

Switolina with the first “mom win” – Bencic out

Elina Switolina immediately set an exclamation mark at her first Grand Slam appearance after the birth of her daughter Skai: In her first round match on Monday, the 28-year-old Ukrainian beat last year’s semi-finalist Martina Trevisan from Italy 6: 2, 6: 2 out of.

“I played really well and it feels special,” said Switolina. “Our baby is half French and half Ukrainian and maybe one day he will play tennis here.”

Switolina, who is married to French tennis pro Gael Monfils, became a mother for the first time in October 2022. She celebrated her comeback in April and won her first tournament as a mom just before Paris.

On Saturday she celebrated the final victory in Strasbourg against Anna Blinkowa – and now also the opening success in the French capital.

On the other hand, the Swiss Olympic champion Belinda Bencic was very disappointed. The 26-year-old was surprisingly defeated by Jelina Avanesian from Russia 3: 6, 6: 2, 4: 6.

World rankings: Zverev again German number one

One day before his opening match at the French Open in Paris, Alexander Zverev took over the position as German number one in the world tennis rankings. Jan-Lennard Struff fell two places behind the Olympic champion from Hamburg, who held 27th place due to his participation in the semifinals in Geneva. Struff is 28.

Just last week, the Warsteiner had pushed Zverev out of his traditional place as a top German player. In two weeks, when the next world rankings are published, both could swap places again: Zverev has many points to defend after his semifinals last year, Struff was missing in Roland Garros in 2022.

In his opening match on Tuesday, Zverev meets South African Lloyd Harris, number 294 in the ranking. In 2022, the 26-year-old twisted his ankle in the semifinals against eventual winner Rafael Nadal and was then out for months. After his comeback at the beginning of the year, Zverev is still waiting for his first final appearance.

French Open, Day 2: The top matches at a glance