Alcaraz eases injury fears with dominant Roland Garros display, Osaka battles on

PARIS :Carlos Alcaraz eased into the second round of the French Open after shrugging off pre-tournament concerns about his forearm while fellow seeds Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz advanced with hard-fought wins as the Grand Slam began on Sunday.

Much of the focus was on title contender Alcaraz's recent right forearm injury in the build-up to the year's second major with the 21-year-old Spaniard saying he still had lingering concerns ahead of his clash with American J.J. Wolf.

But cheered on by the Philippe Chatrier crowd, the two-times Grand Slam champion who skipped three of the four tune-up events he planned to participate in, thumped the lucky loser 6-1 6-2 6-1 and will face qualifier Jesper De Jong next.

"I'm really happy to be back here in Paris and competing again. It's been a difficult month for me... I love playing tennis," third seed Alcaraz said.

"To stay away from that was hurting me. I tried everything I could to be at 100 per cent in Roland Garros to show my best. I think I did it today."

Four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and 2017 winner Jelena Ostapenko also advanced before rain briefly interrupted play but the action continued on Suzanne Lenglen with a new retractable roof inaugurated earlier in the day deployed.

Osaka's reward for a battling 6-1 4-6 7-5 win over Italian Lucia Bronzetti could be a meeting with defending champion Iga Swiatek in the second round.

The top-seeded Swiatek faces Leolia Jeanjean on Monday and should have little trouble dispatching the Frenchwoman.

"I'm honestly really excited. I watched her a lot when I was pregnant," said Osaka, who returned to the tour in January after a 15-month maternity break.

"Honestly, I think it's an honour to play her in the French Open, because she's