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Top seed and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz defeated Flavio Cobolli of Italy 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 in a first-round match of the 2023 French Open on Monday, May 29. The match lasted for a little more than a couple of hours.
The contest between Alcaraz and Cobolli was extremely lopsided for the first two sets, but the latter gave a better account of himself in the third.
Alcaraz will take on Japan’s Taro Daniel in the second round on Wednesday, May 31. Daniel is a solid baseliner but will have to play to the best of his potential to pose a serious challenge to the Spaniard.
It is going to be the first-ever meeting between the two players, with Alcaraz starting as the hot favorite.
On that note, let us take a look at two factors that stood out in the match between Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli.
#1 Carlos Alcaraz kept making Flavio Cobolli move from side to side
Right from the beginning, Alcaraz played the angles well to move Cobolli from one side to the other. The 20-year-old Spaniard also pulled the trigger often by playing his down-the-line and inside-in forehand to the open court to make life difficult for the Cobolli.
Cobolli tried his best to cover the court, but his efforts were often not enough. Alcaraz served a bagel to the Italian in the first set by offering the latter no respite. He then raced to a 4-2 lead in the second set and then broke Cobolli once again to win the set comfortably.
#2 Cobolli had no answer to Alcaraz’s drop shots
Carlos Alcaraz also used his famous drop shots extensively throughout the match. He often succeeded in pinning Cobolli well behind the baseline and then came up with perfectly-placed drop shots that gave the Italian no chance.
It almost became a pattern for the Spaniard to win points through drop shots, as the Italian often found it difficult to chase the ball down.
The 21-year-old Cobolli fought better in the third set and managed to level the score at 5-5 at one stage. However, Alcaraz then broke and served out the match without much difficulty.
Cobolli won only 47 percent of the points on his first serve in the match, while the Spaniard managed a much better 69 percent. That proved to be a significant difference in the end.
