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'I don't need many matches to be my best', says Wolf-tamer Alcaraz
© afp.com/EMMANUEL DUNAND

'I don't need many matches to be my best', says Wolf-tamer Alcaraz

Published by , Sunday 05/26/24 16:32

Carlos Alcaraz maintained his record of never losing in the first round of a Grand Slam by taming J.J. Wolf at the French Open on Sunday, shrugging off his injury-hit build-up by insisting: "I don't need too many matches to be at my best".

The world number three and reigning Wimbledon champion eased through 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 against Wolf, the 107th-ranked player who entered the main draw as a 'lucky loser' from qualifying.

Alcaraz, 21, who made the semi-finals in 2023 where he was defeated by Novak Djokovic, took his first round record at the majors to 13-0.

The Spaniard next faces either Britain's Jack Draper or Dutch qualifier Jesper de Jong.

Alcaraz showed no sign of suffering from the right arm injury which sidelined him from the Rome Open as he coasted to victory on the back of 27 winners and nine breaks of serve.

"I don't need too many matches to be at my best," said Alcaraz.

"I only played four times in Madrid. Of course, I'd have loved to have played more but I don't need many to be at 100%.

"I have practised with a lot of top players in Paris this week and the forearm is feeling better and better."

Alcaraz, who was wearing a protective sleeve on his troublesome right arm, added: "I'm with low expectations coming into this tournament, but after the practice week, after this first round, the confidence is higher. My expectations probably got higher."

Wolf arrived in Paris with just one win on tour all year but he surprised Alcaraz by breaking in the first game.

However that was as good as it got for the 25-year-old as Alcaraz swept the next eight games, setting the tone for the match, before the American managed to hold serve for the first time in the third game of the second set.

Even closing the roof at the end of the second set was of no help to the hapless Wolf who has still to defeat a top-10 player in his career.

Alcaraz repeated his desire to partner Rafael Nadal in the Paris Olympics at Roland Garros later this summer and admitted he has no desire to see his compatriot call time on his career.

"I'm going to be honest. I really want to enjoy as much as I can Rafa's matches here in this tournament and in the next tournaments," said Alcaraz.

Nadal, the record 14-time French Open champion, has a tough first round on Monday when he faces fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev.

"I'm going watch it, that's for sure. If I can come to watch the match here, I will do it.

"But they are rivals, so I can't go with any side, but for sure it's going to be a really good match to watch as a fan."

Source: AFP

Latest comments comments
"Warns competition"? Lmao. Please tell me you're trolling with this headline. It remains painfully obvious that De Minaur simply isn't a Slam contender. Hell, Alex would need a plethora of injury luck just to win a single Masters 1000 event in his career.
LeylahsLegion77 LeylahsLegion77 il y a 17 heures
Retire!!! Jeez!
ad6771 ad6771 il y a 21 heures
Too bad that the TOTAL counts.......beside many other "countings". :)
StAdam StAdam il y a 1 jour
Idemooooooooo GOAT
StAdam StAdam il y a 1 jour
EVERYONE "hopes" to win a medal... Rafa has no chance,neither does Novak. Those days are OVER.
Fred Phoesh Fred Phoesh il y a 1 jour
Sara Errani? She's as old as Nadal and like Nadal, lost a step or two. Interesting choice.
SH321 SH321 il y a 1 jour
Top des commentaires comments
"Warns competition"? Lmao. Please tell me you're trolling with this headline. It remains painfully obvious that De Minaur simply isn't a Slam contender. Hell, Alex would need a plethora of injury luck
1 thumb_up
LeylahsLegion77 LeylahsLegion77
Shouldn’t be too difficult against the lazy player
1 thumb_up
Pieface Pieface
Li collect the title
1 thumb_up
Muhammad Salah Muhammad Salah
Can Andy 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿/🇬🇧 manage to get the win on his favourite surface in this 1st rd match against Alexei & progress to the 2nd rd 🤔
1 thumb_up
Aladdin Sane Aladdin Sane
Match on...who's to reign?
1 thumb_up
Christine N Christine N