Carlos Alcaraz becomes youngest male player since Novak Djokovic in 2005 to win a match at Roland Garros
18-year-old Carlos Alcaraz made a successful Roland Garros debut on Monday, defeating fellow Spaniard Bernabe Zapata Miralles in four sets to advance to the second round.
With his first-round win, Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest male player to win his first match at the French Open since Novak Djokovic in 2005. The Spaniard, who made it to the main draw after winning three qualifying matches, will face Georgia's Nikoloz Basilashvili in the next round.
Carlos Alcaraz sees off Zapata Miralles test
Carlos Alcaraz and Zapata Miralles exchanged breaks in the first four games of the match, before the youngster broke his countryman two more times to clinch the opening set 6-3.
Zapata Miralles hit back by winning the next set 6-2, but Alcaraz raised his level in the third to dish out a breadstick before closing out the match in a fourth-set tiebreaker.
“I think the mental game is really, really important in these kinds of matches. You have to be focussed and calm all the match, three hours and 10 minutes. It's really important and not easy to do,” Alcaraz said. “I trust a lot in my physical [conditioning], yeah. I could play a really, really good game during the whole match.”
Bjorn Borg is the youngest player to win his first match at Roland Garros (16 years and 349 days)
Novak Djokovic was 18 when he defeated USA's Robby Ginepri in the first round of the 2005 French Open. Djokovic lost to eventual runner-up Guillermo Coria in five sets in the second round. The Serb would go on to reach the quarterfinals in Paris the following season, losing to Rafael Nadal.
Meanwhile, Bjorn Borg is the youngest player ever to win a match at Roland Garros. The Swede won his first match on the terre-battue back in 1973 as a 16-year-old, beating Cliff Richey in straight sets. The tournament was also the first Major that Borg had signed up for.
Borg ended up beating Jean-Baptiste Chanfreau and Dick Stockton before losing to Adriano Panatta in the fourth round. The Swede would go on to win 11 Grand Slam titles, including six French Opens.