French Open 2023 Results: Instant Reactions to Winners and Losers from Monday
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic began their 2023 French Open title quests with straight-set victories on Monday.
The No. 1 and No. 3 seeds need to produce four more victories on the Paris clay to set up a semifinal match for the ages.
Based on Monday's play, Alcaraz and Djokovic will not face much of a fight to reach that point of the tournament.
Alcaraz lost just seven games over his three sets against Italian qualifier Flavio Cobolli on Court Suzanne-Lenglen.
Djokovic was forced into a third-set tiebreak by American Aleksandar Kovacevic, but once he reached that point, he dominated the match, as Kovacevic won a single tiebreak point.
Most of the other top players in the men's singles draw moved on to the second round through two days of play.
Felix Auger-Aliassime is the only top 10 men's seed out of the tournament. The Canadian continued his struggles on the Paris clay with a three-set loss to Fabio Fognini.
The women's singles draw saw more upsets on Monday, led by American Sloane Stephens, who ousted No. 10 seed Karolina Pliskova.
Pliskova was one of four top 16 seeds to fall in the women's bracket during Monday's first-round action.
Monday Results
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Men's Singles
No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz def. Flavio Cobolli, 6-0, 6-2, 7-5
No. 3 Novak Djokovic def. Aleksandar Kovacevic, 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (1)
Fabio Fognini def. No. 10 Felix Auger Aliassime, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3
No. 12 Frances Tiafoe def. Filip Krajinovic, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2
No. 14 Cameron Norrie def. Benoit Paire, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4
No. 15 Borna Coric def. Federico Coria, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3
No. 18 Alex De Minaur def. Ilya Ivashka, 6-1, 5-7, 6-1, 6-3
No. 19 Roberto Batista Agut def. Wu Yibing, 7-6 (4), 6-1, 6-1
Jiri Lehecka def. No. 21 Jan-Lennard Struff, 7-5, 1-6, 6-3, 3-6, 6-1
Thiago Tirante def. No. 25 Botic van de Zandschulp, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
No. 26 Denis Shapovalov def. Brandon Nakashima, 6-4, 7-5, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3
No. 29 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina def. Arthur Fils, 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3
Diego Schwartzman def. No. 32 Bernabe Zapata Miralles, 1-6, 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-0, 6-4
Women's Singles
No. 5 Caroline Garcia def. Wang Xiyu, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 6-4
Elisabetta Cocciaretto def. No. 10 Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 6-4
Anna Katerina Schmiedlova def. No. 11 Veronika Kudermetova, 6-3, 6-1
Elina Avanesyan def. No. 12 Belinda Bencic, 6-3, 2-6, 6-4
No. 14 Beatriz Haddad Maia def. Tatjana Maria, 6-0, 6-1
Sloane Stephens def. No. 16 Karolina Pliskova, 6-0, 6-4
No. 20 Madison Keys def. Kaia Kanepi, 6-1, 3-6, 6-1
No. 22 Donna Vekic def. Dayana Yastremska, 6-2, 7-5
Elina Svitolina def. No. 26 Martina Trevisan, 6-2, 6-2
Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic Win in Straight Sets
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Alcaraz and Djokovic produced an expected level of dominance in their opening French Open matches.
The performances were not that surprising since they are the two favorites to win at Roland Garros with Rafael Nadal out injured.
Alcaraz had the easier of the two matches, but Djokovic was never under any direct threat of losing a set, even though he went to a third-set tiebreak.
The pair of Grand Slam champions should have another set of easier matches in the second round.
Alcaraz faces Taro Daniel, who is 3-8 at Grand Slam tournaments in the last three years, while Djokovic takes on Marton Fucsovics, who has a 4-6 major record since making the Wimbledon quarterfinals in 2021.
The first true tests for Alcaraz and Djokovic could come in the third round, when they could face seeded foes for the first time.
Felix Auger Aliassime's French Open Struggles Continue
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Auger Aliassime has not been able to solve the Paris clay during his career.
The 22-year-old Canadian was eliminated in the first round for the third time in four years on Monday.
Auger Aliassime did not stand much of a chance against Fognini in the straight-set defeat. The unseeded Italian was almost immaculate on break points, as he went 8-for-9 on those opportunities.
The No. 10 seed committed 41 unforced errors compared to 32 from Fognini. The Italian produced 10 more winners than the Canadian.
Auger Aliassime's loss opened up an easier path to the fourth round for 24th-seeded American Sebastian Korda and No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The winner of that section would face Alcaraz in the quarterfinals, so the biggest benefit of Auger Alassime's loss is the potential for easier first-week matches for Korda and Tsitsipas in preparation for a battle with the top seed.
Sloane Stephens Headlines Upsets in Women's Draw
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Stephens kicked off a day of upsets in the women's singles draw with her straight-set triumph over Pliskova.
The result was a welcome sight for the American, who was bounced in the first or second round in four of the last five majors.
Stephens achieved the most success at Roland Garros of any major venue since she won the 2017 U.S. Open.
The 30-year-old lost in the 2018 French Open final and advanced to the quarterfinals in 2019 and 2022.
Monday's win could propel Stephens to another deep run in Paris. She could be on a collision course with No. 2 seed Aryna Sabalenka in the fourth round. Only one other seeded player is left in her section of the draw after one round.
Stephens' upset was one of four by unseeded players over top 16 seeds on Monday.
Petra Kvitova, Veronika Kudermetova and Belinda Bencic all dropped out of the event along with Pliskova. Bencic was the only player of the quartet to take her match to three sets.
Those four players joined No. 8 seed Maria Sakkari as the top 16 seeds to be eliminated through two days of first-round play.
Five top 16 seeds will open their tournaments on Tuesday, including top seed and reigning champion Iga Swiatek, 2022 runner-up Coco Gauff and 2021 champion Barbora Krejcikova.
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