ROME (AP) — Carlos Alcaraz returned from a brief injury layoff and didn't appear to have any issues during a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Serbian qualifier Dusan Lajovic at the Italian Open on Friday.
The third-ranked Alcaraz withdrew from the Madrid Open last month due to an upper right leg ailment that bothered him during the Barcelona Open final. He also had a left leg injury.
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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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Andrew Dampf, The Associated Press
