Carlos Alcaraz banishes injury fears with dominant opening win at Roland Garros

By Andy Sims, PA, Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz shrugged off any injury fears as he tamed JJ Wolf to roar into the second round of the French Open.

The Spanish world number three’s participation at Roland Garros was in doubt after he pulled out of the Italian Open earlier this month due to an issue with his forearm.

But the two-time major winner was in no obvious discomfort as he bared his teeth by dropping just four games against American Wolf.

Wearing a protective sleeve on his right arm, the 21-year-old Wimbledon champion crashed down five aces and clubbed 27 winners in a statement 6-1 6-2 6-1 victory on Court Philippe Chatrier.

He said: “I’m really happy to be back here in Paris to compete again, it’s been a very difficult month for me because I love competing.

“I’ve tried everything I could to be at 100 per cent here at Roland Garros to show my best tennis, and I think I did that today.

“I would have loved to have played more matches but I don’t need too many matches to get to 100 per cent. I did really good preparation this past two weeks and practices with top players. My forearm is getting better and better.”