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Against Lajovic, Alcaraz wore a long black
brace that covered the upper portion of his right leg and
stretched down to just below his knee.
“The body felt great,” Alcaraz said. “I just moved well. I made
a few good sprints today without any pain. ... It was a test for
me so I think I passed the test today.”
“It was a great performance, great level, which was surprising
for me a little bit, but just really happy for that,” Alcaraz
added.
Alcaraz won the opening four games but dropped his serve when he
served for the first set at 5-2. The Spaniard broke back in the
next game to close it out, showing off his speed on the clay
court at the Foro Italico when he ran down a drop shot and
produced a backhand winner on one key point.
Alcaraz also went ahead early in the second set. He finished
with the same number of winners as unforced errors — 24.
Alcaraz, who won the Monte Carlo Masters in April, improved to
10-1 on clay this season. He’ll next face either 31st-seeded
Alex Michelsen or Laslo Djere.
A four-time Grand Slam champion, Alcaraz is preparing to defend
his title at the French Open, which starts May 25.
The Rome tournament also marks the return of top-ranked Jannik
Sinner from a three-month doping ban.
Sinner and Alcaraz are in opposite sides of the draw.
Sinner opens against 99th-ranked Mariano Navone on Saturday.
In the women’s tournament, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka opened
with a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Anastasia Potapova.
Sabalenka beat Coco Gauff in the Madrid final last weekend.
In a night match, Gauff needed 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 at the Wimbledon and U.S.
Open junior tournaments in 2022, gave Gauff trouble at the start
with her solid baseline game. |
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