ROME — Carlos Alcaraz returned from a quick damage layoff and did not seem to have any points throughout a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic on the Italian Open on Friday.
The third-ranked Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open final month because of an higher proper leg ailment that bothered him in the course of the Barcelona Open closing. He additionally had a left leg damage.
In opposition to Lajovic, Alcaraz wore an extended black brace that lined the higher portion of his proper leg and stretched down to simply beneath his knee.
“The physique felt nice,” Alcaraz mentioned. “I simply moved nicely. I made a number of good sprints right now with none ache. … It was a check for me, so I feel I handed the check right now.”
“It was an amazing efficiency, nice stage, which was shocking for me slightly bit, however simply actually pleased for that,” Alcaraz added.
Alcaraz received the opening 4 video games however dropped his serve when he tried to shut out the primary set at 5-2. The Spaniard broke again within the subsequent sport to win the set, displaying off his pace on the clay court docket on the Foro Italico when he ran down a drop shot and produced a backhand winner.
He additionally went forward early within the second set and completed out the win. He had the identical variety of winners as unforced errors, with 24 every.
Alcaraz, who received the Monte Carlo Masters in April, improved to 10-1 on clay this season. He’ll subsequent face Laslo Djere, who defeated Thirty first-seeded Alex Michelsen 6-0, 6-3.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz is getting ready to defend his title on the French Open, which begins Might 25.
The Rome match additionally marks the return of top-ranked Jannik Sinner from a three-month doping ban. Sinner opens in opposition to 99th-ranked Mariano Navone on Saturday.
Sinner and Alcaraz are in reverse sides of the draw.
Within the girls’s match, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka opened with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Anastasia Potapova, then in an evening match, Coco Gauff wanted to rally for a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over 156th-ranked Canadian qualifier Victoria Mboko.
The 18-year-old Mboko, a semifinalist on the Wimbledon and US Open junior tournaments in 2022, gave Gauff hassle firstly along with her strong baseline sport.