Rolex Paris Masters: Carlos Alcaraz Garfia starts his campaign with a dominant win, while Rafael Nadal has a shock exit
The world's no. 1 Carlos Alcaraz Garfia of Spain began his Rolex Paris Masters campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan at Accor Arena in Paris, France, on November 2
World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz Garfia of Spain began his Rolex Paris Masters campaign with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Yoshihito NishiokaSpanish sensation Carlos Alcaraz Garfia dominated Yoshihito Nishioka throughout the match. He immediately broke back before serving out for the opener. The 19-year-old Spaniard won 12 of the final 14 points to secure his victory.
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia served nine aces, won 85% of the points on the first serve and broke the serve of his Japanese opponent three times from six opportunities. In contrast, the 27-year-old Japanese served no aces, won 67% of the points on the first serve and earned one breakpoint from one opportunity.
After the victory, Carlos Alcaraz said, "First round in every tournament is never easy. You have to be focused. You have to try to get a good rhythm, and a good feeling in the first round. I'm really happy with the performance, the level that I played, and I'm looking forward to getting better in the next round."
To maintain his stay at the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings' top, Carlos Alcaraz must advance to the quarterfinals at the Masters 1000 event in Paris. However, if he fails, the world's no. 1 Rafael Nadal will reclaim the top spot if he claims the title at Rolex Paris Masters.
Carlos Alcaraz Garfia will lock horns with Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in a third-round clash of the Rolex Paris Masters on November 3.
In another second-round clash of the day, the world's no. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas secured a comfortable straight set 6-3, 6-4 victory over Dan Evans of the United Kingdom.
Rafael Nadal suffers an early exit in Paris
Rafael Nadal was handed a 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-1 defeat by Tommy Paul of the United States in the second round of the Rolex Paris Masters at Accor Arena in Paris, France, on November 2.
In a post-match interview, Rafael Nadal said, "I had my match in that second set with [a] set and break. I played a terrible game there. Yeah, I didn't deserve the victory playing that badly in that key moment, no. Until that moment it was OK, a good match for me, knowing that is my first match in a while."
Daniil Medvedev also crashed out of the Masters 1000 event after suffering a 4-6, 6-2, 5-7 loss to Alex de Minaur of Australia on the indoor hardcourts in Paris.