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Carlos Alcaraz sees off Taro Daniel to reach third round of French Open

Reuters
Updated
Alcaraz in action on the clay
Alcaraz in action on the clayReuters
Carlos Alcaraz (20) came through a tricky early test at the French Open with flying colours, as the world number one sealed a 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-2 victory over Japan's Taro Daniel (30) on Wednesday to reach the third round.

Alcaraz enjoyed a dominant opening win over Flavio Cobolli in his first match as the top seed in a Grand Slam and he made another blistering start against Daniel to ease through the first set on the back of two breaks.

Daniel pounced early in the next to grab a 3-0 lead before Alcaraz got on the board. He continued to batter the suddenly error-prone Spaniard with relentless hitting from the baseline before levelling the match.

But the Japanese player, ranked 112th in the world, was on the back foot again on a gusty Court Philippe Chatrier as Alcaraz regained focus to break early in the third set and he closed out the win in style.

"I'm a player who plays really well in the wind. I have practised in Vienna which has a lot of wind, a lot of days and I'm used to playing in the wind," he said.

"It's really tough to adapt your game to that. I tried to play as best as I can. Today, I played a good level."

Alcaraz will next play Canadian 26th seed Denis Shapovalov.

"I've never played against him. But I practised in Barcelona with him. Everybody knows his level," Alcaraz told reporters.

"He's a really dangerous player. He has great shots. It's going to be a really difficult match. I have to be ready, really focused on his shots.

"I try not to think about the opponent. I try to think about myself, about my game, and try to put it into the match. All I can say is tomorrow is a day off for me and we're gonna think about the match tomorrow with my team."