Rafael Nadal fought back from a slow start to defeat Belgian qualifier Zizou Bergs 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in his opening match at the Italian Open.
Nadal endured a poor first set, losing five of the last six games, but turned things around in impressive style, spending two hours and 47 minutes on the court on Thursday.
The 10-time Italian Open champion saved all five break points he faced in the second and third sets to take key points and earn a seventh win of the season.
Nadal is competing in his third consecutive tour-level event after missing most of last year due to a hip injury that required surgery before his comeback was halted by a muscle tear in January.
"That was not my best match, I was practising better than I played today, but I found a way to win," he said after the match.
"That’s so important at the beginning of the tournament. My game is more unpredictable than before. I didn’t play much tennis for the last two years, so have some ups and downs, on and off, but I think I can do much better than today and I hope to do it next round."
The Spaniard will face seventh-seeded Hubert Hurkacz in the second round.
Data Debrief:
Nadal had only lost one of his previous 18 opening-round matches in Rome before Thursday and avoided adding to that tally in his final appearance at the tournament.
He has the most wins at the Foro Italico (70), where he first claimed the title on his debut in 2005.
Alcaraz turns on the style to beat Korda at Roland Garros
Carlos Alcaraz dug deep to overcome a spirited performance from Sebastian Korda in the third round of the French Open, claiming a 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 win.
Korda failed to build on an early break as Alcaraz took the opener on Court Philippe-Chatrier, but he appeared to have the Spaniard on the ropes when he forced a second-set tie-break.
However, the two-time grand slam champion clinched the tie-break with a huge forehand winner and seemed to grow in stature from there, moving well and displaying too much power for his American opponent.
Alcaraz put Korda under pressure from the off in the third set and did not give up a single break point on his own serve, converting the first of two match points with a neat serve and volley.
He will face either Ben Shelton or Felix Auger-Aliassime next, with Stefanos Tsitsipas potentially lurking in the quarter-finals.
Data Debrief: Alcaraz just too good
As was the case against Jesper de Jong in round two, Alcaraz looked to be under serious pressure on Friday, only to step things up and pull away from his opponent.
He has now won 14 of his 17 singles matches at the French Open, with his win ratio of 82.4 per cent the third highest among active male players, after Rafael Nadal (96.6 per cent) and Novak Djokovic (85.3 per cent).
Swiatek celebrates birthday with routine win over Bouzkova
Iga Swiatek marked her 23rd birthday with a straight-sets victory over Marie Bouzkova at the French Open on Friday, maintaining her charge for a third successive Roland-Garros title.
Swiatek was pushed all the way by Naomi Osaka in her second-round match on Wednesday, but she enjoyed a far more serene outing on Court Philippe-Chatrier in the third round.
The world number one raced to a 6-4 6-2 win as Bouzkova struggled to match her heavy-hitting, and she could even afford to surrender one of her two breaks at the tail end of the opener.
Swiatek broke immediately at the start of the second set, setting the tone for a powerful finish to the match, her victory fittingly sealed with a thumping forehand up the line.
She will face Anastasia Potapova next up after the Russian overcame Wang Xinyu in three sets on Friday.
Data Debrief: Perfect celebration for Swiatek
Since the WTA rankings were first published in 1975, only two world number ones have won a match at Roland Garros on their birthday, Justine Henin in 2007 and Swiatek on Friday.
She is also the only player this century to reach the fourth round of the women's draw on each of her first six French Open appearances.
Sinner maintains fine form with routine Kotov win
Jannik Sinner maintained his excellent form and cruised into the fourth round of the French Open with a dominant win over Pavel Kotov on Friday.
The Australian Open champion won his third successive match without dropping a set at Roland Garros, triumphing 6-4 6-4 6-4 in just under two and a half hours on court.
Sinner – who is eyeing Novak Djokovic's place at the top of the ATP rankings – was on top from the off and forced 13 break points, moving well and forcing the issue with a series of powerful ground strokes.
Early breaks did the trick in sets one and two, and it was smooth sailing once he secured another break five games into the third, teeing up a fourth-round meeting with either Corentin Moutet or Sebastian Ofner.
Data Debrief: Sinner marches on
Sinner has now won his first 10 grand slam matches of 2024, and a deep run looks extremely likely just one year after he suffered a second-round exit in the French capital.
Since the turn of the century, he is just the third man to start a calendar year with 10 straight major wins before turning 23 years old, after Rafael Nadal and Djokovic.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
