Author: Barkha Roy
Novak Djokovic comfortably defeated Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 in straight sets to secure his place in the next round. Brazil’s Beatriz Haddad Maia quickly overcame last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria in a quick 64-minute match, winning 6-0, 6-1. As a result, Haddad Maia secured a place in the second round of Roland Garros for the second year running.
Although the American rallied in the third set, recovering from 3-5 down to force a tie-break, Djokovic stood firm and eventually emerged victorious in the first round. Throughout the match, Djokovic took advantage of five of the 12 break points and hit 41 winners, compared to Kovacevic’s 25.
Despite an atypical drop in performance during the third set, Djokovic, currently ranked third in the world, maintained a consistently high level throughout the victory. He demonstrated accurate groundstrokes on both sides and won impressively; 82% (37/45) of the points with his first serve. In the next second round at Roland Garros, Djokovic will face the challenge of Marton Fucsovics, ranked 83rd in the world.
Stan Wawrinka’s competitive spirit shone brightly on Monday at Roland Garros. The former champion, who won the title in 2015, narrowly escaped a possible early exit in the first round of the clay-court tournament. He fought hard against Spain’s Albert Ramos-Vinolas and emerged victorious with a hard-fought 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-7(2), 1-6, 6-4 scoreline.
In another exhausting five-set match, Dominic Thiem was beaten by Pedro Cachin, who emerged victorious with a score of 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(1), 4-6, 6-2 against the two-time finalist. Thiem, 28, is now aiming to reach the third round of the clay-court tournament, a feat he has yet to achieve at this major. His next opponent will be Borna Coric, the 15th-ranked Croatian, who secured victory against Federico Coria, a fellow countryman of Cachin’s, with a score of 7-6(3), 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3.
Carlos Alcaraz showed his impressive speed and skill by quickly defeating Flavio Cobolli 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to advance to the second round. In his continuing quest for victory, Alcaraz’s next challenge will be against Taro Daniel, a Japanese player who secured his own victory by beating Christopher O’Connell of Australia 6-0, 6-2, 6-4.
In the women’s singles, Haddad Maia dominated the first set with a 5-0 lead, although she needed six set points and a 12-minute match to finally close out the first set. In the second set, she faced her first break of serve of the day at 5-0, but recovered quickly, breaking back and securing the win.
Haddad Maia will face Diana Shnaider for the first time. Shnaider, a 19-year-old player ranked 108th, recently finished her freshman year at North Carolina State. She booked her place in the next round by beating Rebecca Marino 6-3, 7-5.