Novak Djokovic’s pursuit of a fourth career French Open title is off to an auspicious start, as he opened his campaign with a straight sets win in the first round. Winning at Roland Garros is crucial for the Serbian international, as he seeks to improve his place in the updated ATP rankings, where he currently stands sixth.
Fellow top seed Carlos Alcaraz is also off to a positive start at Roland Garros since he also won in straight sets during the opening round. The second-seeded Spaniard hopes to successfully defend his title, and the French Open 2025 odds back him to make a deep tournament run. Above him is Jannik Sinner, who also aced his first test against Arthur Rinderknech.
Elsewhere, Daniil Medvedev was on the receiving end of one of the most surprising French Open 2025 results so far this tournament.
Learn more about the latest at Roland Garros, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Djokovic has built huge momentum
Novak Djokovic maintained his perfect opening-round record in the French Open with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 triumph over Mackenzie McDonald last Tuesday. The 38-year-old improved to 20-0 in first-round matches at Roland Garros and has not lost a set in an opener since he needed four sets to dispatch Evgeny Korolev in 2010.
After a 2-2 start in the opening set, Djokovic won six of the next seven games to take the first. McDonald fought hard to claim his only break of Djokovic’s serve to reduce his second-set deficit to 3-5, but the American international couldn’t match his opponent’s superb baseline hitting. Djokovic then broke in the next game to clinch the second set and eased through the third by converting five of nine break points he earned.
Djokovic reached the quarterfinals last year but had to withdraw due to a knee injury. He returned to Roland Garros later in the year to win an Olympic gold medal, and he will face Corentin Moutet in the second round tomorrow.
Before this, Djokovic was fresh from back-to-back early exits in the Monte-Carlo Masters (R32) and Madrid Open (R64) but redeemed himself by winning the Geneva Open. The Geneva Open was the Serb’s 100th tour-level title, and now he has his eyes set on winning his 25th career Grand Slam.
Medvedev suffers another early exit
Daniil Medvedev’s poor form continues, as he suffered a grueling 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 1-6, 7-5 loss against Cameron Norrie in the first round last Tuesday. The Russian international will not make it to the semifinals for the fourth consecutive tournament.
After dropping the first two sets, Medvedev, ranked 11th in the ATP, was determined not to go down without a fight against Norrie, ranked 81st in the ATP. Medvedev won sets three and four to force a fifth set and appeared to have momentum on his side.
Medvedev jumped out to a 5-3 lead over Norrie in the final set, but Norrie didn’t break. The British international battled back to win the last four games, taking advantage of Medvedev’s failure to serve out the match to cross the line after nearly four hours.
When he led 2-1 in the third set, Medvedev was granted a medical timeout to treat a cut in his right index finger. Despite this, the Russian international recorded 16 aces to Norrie’s one, but he also had 69 unforced errors.
The 2025 French Open draws parallels to his gut-wrenching second-round loss to Learner Tien in last January’s Australian Open, where he rallied from two sets down but eventually lost. Medvedev entered the Grand Slam as the 11th seed, but he’s expected to move down several spots after yet another early exit.
Meanwhile, Norrie will face Federico Agustin Gomez in the second round on Wednesday. Gomez qualified for the second round after defeating Aleksandar Kovacevic last Tuesday.
Alcaraz opens title defence with resounding win
Carlos Alcaraz reminded everyone he’s the man to beat at Roland Garros with a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 statement win over qualifier Giulio Zeppieri in the opening round last Monday. Alcaraz, who aims to successfully defend his French Open title since Rafael Nadal in 2019-20, has now won 16 of his 17 tour-level matches on clay this year.
The young Spaniard needed only one hour and 56 minutes to dispatch Zeppieri. Alcaraz fired 15 drop shots and was particularly clinical when charging to the net, where he won 21 of 25 points.
Before this, Alcaraz won the Monte-Carlo Masters and the Italian Open before reclaiming the second seed in the ATP rankings last week. The 22-year-old will continue his title defense against Fabian Marozsan, with whom he has a 1-1 head-to-head record.
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