Carlos Alcaraz began his pursuit of a first Australian Open title with a solid performance as he defeated Richard Gasquet 7-6 (5), 6-1, 6-2 to reach the second round in Melbourne.
Alcaraz had opted not to contest a warm-up tournament, meaning the victory is his first official match since his loss to Novak Djokovic in the semi-final of the ATP Finals last year. It is also the Spaniard’s first match at the Australian Open since 2022, when he was ranked outside the Top 30 and lost in the third round, as he was forced to withdraw from last year’s event with injury.
