Swiatek launches French Open record bid, Alcaraz advances

Defending champion Iga Swiatek cruised past Rebecca Sramkova of Slovakia 6-3 6-3 and into the second round of the French Open on Monday, launching her quest for a record fourth straight women's title.

The Pole, a four-times champion who is now on a 22-match winning run in Paris having won the last three titles, is looking to become the first female player to win four straight French Open crowns in the professional era since 1968.

On the men's side, defending champion Carlos Alcaraz of Spain enjoyed an equally trouble-free first-round match, easing past Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri 6-3 6-4 6-2 but fourth see Taylor Fritz crashed out after a 7-5 3-6 6-3 6-1 loss to Daniel Altmaier of Germany.

For four-times Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka it was an equally disappointing opener with an error-ridden performance that ended in defeat by Spain's Paula Badosa 6-7(1) 6-1 6-4.

Swiatek had arrived more than 10 days before the tournament to get sufficient training on the clay courts and she said it has so far paid off.

"It was the first time we had this situation (of arriving early)," Swiatek said in a post-match interview. "But I liked it. I knew I am going to have the best courts to practice on."

Swiatek next faces Britain's Emma Raducanu, who had to battle for more than two and half hours before securing a 7-5 4-6 6-3 win over China's Wang Xinyu.

The former US Open champion, who has slipped down to 41st in the world, had to have her blood pressure checked during the first set but came back to win the match, helped also by the Chinese's staggering 54 unforced errors.

Elsewhere, two-time men's finalist Casper Ruud had little trouble against Spanish qualifier Albert Ramos Vinolas, easing into the second round with a 6-3 6-4 6-2 victory. The Norwegian reached the final in Paris in 2022 and 2023.

Another former finalist, Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas, earned a straight-sets win over Argentine Tomas Etcheverry to set up a second-round match against qualifier Matteo Gigante of Italy.