French Open 2023: Carlos Alcaraz pleased with 'great level' after getting off to flyer with big Flavio Cobolli win

Top seed Carlos Alcaraz cruised through his French Open first round clash with Italian Flavio Cobolli, demolishing the qualifier 6-0 6-2 7-5. With seven matches ahead of him if he is to reach the final, Alcaraz appeared to be in no mood to wait to progress, but Cobolli would ultimately offer some battling resistance late on. Ad «It’s great to play here,» Alcaraz said.

«This is my first time on [Court Suzanne] Lenglen, and it’s been a great court. I enjoy playing here, with such great energy from the crowd, returning to [Roland-Garros] at a great level. Roland-Garros'I played a great level' — Alcaraz reflects on winning opening match at Roland-GarrosAN HOUR AGO »It’s not so good when you’re 5-4 down [in the third set], but I had to forget about that.

I forgot about it quickly, and I played better at 6-5." The powerful Spaniard dominated in the early stages as he moved 3-0 up, and the world No. 1 would have been optimistic that he could step into the spot vacated by Rafael Nadal as the tournament favourite. Cobolli is just a year younger than his opponent, but with no tournament wins to his name, the 21-year-old is ranked outside the top 400 and began as the clear underdog.

Alcaraz asserted his technical ability with a down-the-line drop shot, from deep, that left his opponent as stunned as the ball he failed to reach. It took just 24 minutes for Alcaraz to win the first set. The tournament’s first seed was in such form that when Cobolli celebrated his first game at 2-1 down in the second, the Roland-Garros crowd responded with cheers and applause for his gumption.