Feeling 'invincible': Carlos Alcaraz resumes hunt for maiden French Open title

Alcaraz is the top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time but he showed little sign of nerves in his first-round match, as he laid down the gauntlet to his title rivals with an impeccable performance against Flavio Cobolli (21).

The Spaniard won the first eight games of the contest and was comfortably two sets up in under an hour, before wrapping up the win in just under two hours.

"At the start of the match, I felt invincible," said Alcaraz, who became the youngest world number one last year following his US Open triumph.

"I felt I couldn't lose a game. I thought that I was able to win easier than I did, but a match can turn around in each game."

Up next for Alcaraz is a clash with Japan's Taro Daniel (30) on Court Philippe-Chatrier before Djokovic steps under the lights to take on Marton Fucsovics (31) of Hungary, with the controversy over his "Kosovo is the heart of Serbia" message still raging.

Belgrade-born Djokovic wrote the message on a TV camera following his victory over Aleksandar Kovacevic (24) on Monday, after NATO peacekeeping soldiers were injured in clashes with Serb protesters in the northern Kosovo town of Zvecan, where Djokovic's father grew up.

"My stance is clear: I am against wars, violence and any kind of conflict, as I've always stated publicly. I empathise with all people, but the situation with Kosovo is a precedent in international law," Djokovic said.

Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas (24), who reached the final in 2021, will face Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena (30) in the second round, with seventh seed Andrey Rublev (25) of Russia also in action against home hope Corentin Moutet (24).

In the women's draw, world number two Aryna Sabalenka (25) is up against Belarusian compatriot Iryna Shymanovich (25) while third-ranked Jessica Pegula (29) takes on Italian Camilla Giorgi (31).

Caroline Garcia (29), carrying French hopes for a first Roland Garros singles champion since Mary Pierce in 2000, prevailed over Wang Xiyu (22) in three sets in her opening match to delight the home crowd.

"It was a big first round," said fifth seed Garcia, who will play Russian Anna Blinkova (24) in the second round. "Since I have arrived here in Paris, in Roland Garros, I have received a lot of positive energy, lots of support from the crowd.

"I try and take all of this energy. It's a great opportunity. It's a chance that I'm given."