Novak Djokovic launched his quest for a record-breaking 23rd men's Grand Slam singles title with a no-nonsense 6-3 6-2 7-6 (1) win over debutant Aleksandar Kovacevic in the opening round of the French Open on Monday.
World number one Carlos Alcaraz also came through with flying colours as the Spaniard crushed Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli 6-0 6-2 7-5 in his first Grand Slam match since winning the U.S. Open title last year.
"It's always a pleasure to come back here, one of the best tournaments in the world," said Djokovic, who made his Roland Garros debut in 2005.Djokovic did not have an ideal build-up to the claycourt Grand Slam, missing the Madrid Masters and being eliminated in the last eight in Rome, but he looked in good form in windy conditions.
Dominic Thiem took his main draw spot after the withdrawal of 14-times champion Rafa Nadal - his conqueror in the 2018 and 2019 finals but the injury-plagued Austrian fell to Argentine Pedro Cachin who won 6-3 6-2 6-7 4-6 6-2. The 31-year-old enjoyed her best run at a Grand Slam in the 2021 tournament when she reached he final, and skipped last year's edition as well as the second half of the season to nurse an injury.Although everything went smoothly on court for the American, she said racist abuse of players had got worse.
She said since her return to the tennis tour in April the focus had not been on the suffering of Ukrainians following Russia's invasion last year.
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