Dominic Thiem is eager to continue his return to form despite a tough five-set loss to Pedro Cachin on Monday in the first round at Roland Garros.

More than a year ago Thiem began his comeback from a wrist injury against Cachin. The Austrian believes he is in a much better place now.

“There’s no comparison. Back then I was not ready to play. I shouldn’t have even played. Today I was definitely ready to play, to fight. That’s what I did obviously,” Thiem said. “I didn’t start well at all. How should I say, I was very tight. What I was expecting, I had very, very good practice sets. but most of the times in the first real match it’s not that easy, and that’s what happened.

“I was fighting back great, starting to play a bit better. And then, yeah, I missed to do the last step, to reward myself, to give myself a chance to play a second round maybe a little bit looser. I was not able to do it.”

During Thiem’s post-match press conference, a reporter recalled the Austrian once saying after losing a Roland Garros final to Rafael Nadal that he had gone from “tennis heaven” to “tennis hell”. His journey from near the top of the sport to rock bottom due to his wrist injury has felt similar, he said.

“It was exactly like that, from tennis heaven to tennis hell, and now hopefully back to tennis heaven. It was really, really great experiences like in the previous years, and now also it’s a very good challenge what I’m facing right now,” Thiem said. “It’s tough obviously, but I’m really convinced with the way that I’m on right now, especially the last six weeks. That’s when I started to be really into my career again, really push myself every day to the limit.

“But, on the same hand, six weeks is not enough yet to make a deep run here. I have to continue working like that. Yeah, today I failed to reward myself. Hopefully the next tournament I can do it.”

The 29-year-old might have lost in Paris, but the two-time Roland Garros finalist is upbeat about what is to come. The No. 92 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is determined to continue improving.

“[It was] changing perspectives again and then changing my attitude again towards the game from thinking about or thinking of giving 100 per cent, but not really [doing] it, to really [doing] it again. That’s what changed,” Thiem said. “The last six weeks were really good. But, yeah, obviously it’s not enough yet to play well, to play well in a tournament like that. But, yeah, again, I feel that I’m on the right track again. Today I just failed to reward myself.”

Jannik Sinner was ruthlessly efficient in his first-round win at Roland Garros on Monday evening.

The Italian cruised past home favourite Alexandre Muller 6-1, 6-4, 6-1 to reach the second round at the clay-court major for the fourth straight year. Sinner has never fallen short of the fourth round in three previous appearances in Paris.

The eighth seed hit 30 winners and saved the two break points he faced to defeat Muller on Court Philippe-Chatrier. Next up will be German Daniel Altmaier, who eliminated Marc-Andrea Huesler 6-3, 6-4, 6-4.

Sinner will be plenty familiar with Altmaier, who at last year’s US Open pushed him to five sets in a three-hour, 35-minute tussle. The Italian will try to keep his opponent’s aggressive one-handed backhand at bay.

In other action late in the day, #NextGenATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche ousted 2018 Roland Garros semi-finalist Marco Cecchinato 6-1, 6-1, 6-3. It was the 19-year-old’s main draw debut at this event after losing in the first round of qualifying in each of the past two years.

The teen won the Roland Garros boys’ singles title two years ago. The player he defeated in the final, Arthur Fils, claimed his first ATP Tour trophy on Saturday in Lyon, but was unable to advance in Paris. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, the 29th seed, defeated Fils 6-1, 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to set a second-round clash with Van Assche.

The first round reaches its climax on Tuesday at Roland Garros, where second seed Daniil Medvedev, the in-form Holger Rune and 2022 semi-finalist Alexander Zverev all begin their campaigns in the singles draw at the clay-court major.

ATPTour.com breaks down some of the standout matches on the Day 3 schedule in Paris.

[6] Holger Rune (DEN) vs. Christopher Eubanks (USA)

Holger Rune announced himself on the Grand Slam stage last year at Roland Garros, where the then-19-year-old took out Denis Shapovalov and Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarter-finals on event debut. Rune returns as the sixth seed, a four-time ATP Tour champion, and one of the in-form players on the ATP Tour.

A 13-3 record across the European clay season suggests the Dane is primed for another deep Roland Garros run, but he faces an unfamiliar challenge first up in Christopher Eubanks. It will be Rune’s maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with the American, who will step on Court Simonne-Mathieu at a career-high No. 74 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Rune will hope his ability to power his groundstrokes through the Parisian clay can hurry Eubanks, who is making his main draw debut at Roland Garros. The Dane possesses an all-around game that has helped him notch victories against Medvedev, Jannik Sinner, Novak Djokovic and Ruud so far this clay season.

[2] Daniil Medvedev vs. [Q] Thiago Seyboth Wild (BRA)

Medvedev arrived in Paris seemingly better-placed to forge a deep run at the clay-court major than ever before. The second seed has racked up a 10-2 record on the European clay across April and May, a run that culminated with his maiden tour-level title on the surface at the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome.

The man charged with stopping Medvedev on Tuesday in Paris is the World No. 172 Thiago Seyboth Wild. The Brazilian battled through qualifying to reach the main draw at Roland Garros for the first time in four attempts, and he will have to hit his best level again if he is going to make an impact in just his second ATP Head2Head meeting with a Top 10 opponent.

Medvedev’s huge serve and relentless retrieving skills at the baseline shone throughout his Rome run. With a 2-4 record in first-round matches at Roland Garros, the 27-year-old will likely look to those strengths again to ward off a potential upset and kick-start his bid for a second major title.

[22] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs. Lloyd Harris (RSA)

Zverev returns to the Roland Garros clay for the first time since he rolled his ankle badly and was forced to retire from his 2022 semi-final against Rafael Nadal. The German has struggled to find his best level since returning to ATP Tour in January, but fourth-round runs at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome suggest the German is on his way back to form.

On Tuesday he meets another player settling back into match action after injury, Lloyd Harris. Like Zverev the 26-year-old did not compete post-Roland Garros last season, after undergoing wrist surgery. Harris has racked up a 10-5 record on the ATP Challenger Tour since his return at the start of the year, and the former World No. 31 will see the Zverev clash as a good measure of his post-injury progress.

Zverev leads 3-0 in the pair’s ATP Head2Head series, but the 22nd seed will need to be sharp on return to counter Harris’ booming serve as he looks to improve his 23-7 match record at Roland Garros.

[4] Casper Ruud (NOR) vs. [Q] E. Ymer (SWE)

Can Casper Ruud bring his best to Roland Garros? The 2022 finalist has had a modest season by his standards so far but will hope to improve his 13-5 record at the clay-court major when he takes on qualifier Elias Ymer on Court Suzanne-Lenglen. Paris could be the perfect setting for a maiden major title for Ruud, who holds fond memories of his charge to his maiden Grand Slam final in the French capital.

“It’s nice, being back here, [living] through the memories that I have from last year and the belief that I can do well here obviously grows when you have done it at least once before,” said Ruud in his pre-tournament press conference. “I’m hoping for a good run now in these two weeks.”

Also In Action…

Taylor Fritz is the other Top 10 star in action on Tuesday. The World No. 9 takes on fellow American Michael Mmoh as he chases a second-round spot for the fourth consecutive year. The 16th seed Tommy Paul, a semi-finalist at January’s Australian Open, meets 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitor Dominic Stricker.

The 28th seed Grigor Dimitrov faces qualifier Timofey Skatov, while home favourites in action include Gael Monfils, who meets Sebastian Baez. Richard Gasquet and Arthur Rinderknech also clash in an all-French affair.

Daniil Medvedev has made no secret about his surface preference. The 27-year-old likes hard courts the most and it is not particularly close.

But entering Roland Garros, he is enjoying more success than ever on clay. Seeded second in Paris, Medvedev is fresh off winning a clay-court ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome, where he had never previously won a match.

“Friendship. I don’t think I love it,” Medvedev said after defeating Holger Rune in the final, cracking a laugh. “I love hard courts, my only love in tennis. But I definitely like clay courts much more now.”

According to Insights provided by Tennis Data Innovations, Medvedev’s performance on clay this year has been close to his level on his beloved hard courts.

Medvedev Insights: Hard vs Clay

Medvedev crafted a jaw-dropping stretch of tennis when he won titles in Rotterdam, Doha and Dubai, reached the final in Indian Wells and then lifted the trophy in Miami. Unsurprisingly, those are hard-court tournaments.

But his performance metrics on clay in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome closely rivaled his efforts during that red-hot streak earlier in the year. Could Medvedev the hard-court savant be harnessing his game on the dirt?

The numbers indicate he is coming close. Medvedev’s forehand shot quality, which analyses the shot’s speed, spin, depth, width and the impact it has on the opponent, was 8.2 across the aforementioned hard-court tournaments. At the three clay-court Masters 1000 events, it was close behind at 8.

The ATP Tour average is 7.2. Medvedev actually made a higher percentage of forehands in the court on clay without any dropoff in speed and minimal change in spin.

Medvedev Forehand Insights: Hard vs Clay

Medvedev’s conversion score, which measures the percentage of points won when a player is in attack, was the same at 71 per cent. His steal score, which calculates percentage of points won in defence, was 40 per cent, just behind his 42 per cent at the five hard-court tournaments.

The 27-year-old’s steal score in Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome was the best on Tour. Not bad for a player who has often said he hates the surface. 

Medvedev won 57 per cent of his baseline points during the clay-court Masters 1000 tournaments, which also led the Tour, with Rune in second.

Most people do not consider Medvedev a clay-court threat, but the numbers show he should be.

The second seed will begin his run at Roland Garros on Tuesday against qualifier Thiago Seyboth Wild.

Carlos Alcaraz wasted little time getting his Roland Garros title quest underway on Monday when he raced past #NextGenATP Italian Flavio Cobolli 6-0, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the second round.

The 20-year-old Alcaraz is the top seed at a Grand Slam for the first time and the youngest in Paris since a then-19-year-old Bjorn Borg in 1976. The Spaniard showed little sign of nerves in his opening match, though, timing his clean groundstrokes perfectly to overpower the 21-year-old qualifier Cobolli in the baseline exchanges.

“It is great to play here. It is my first time on Suzanne-Lenglen and I enjoyed playing here,” Alcaraz said. “There was such great energy from the crowd and I came out with a great level.”

The shot, the reaction, EVERYTHING 🔥@carlosalcaraz | @rolandgarros | #RolandGarros

pic.twitter.com/XCkKkHcVzd

— ATP Tour (@atptour) May 29, 2023

Alcaraz showed off his variety on Court Suzanne-Lenglen by repeatedly pulling Cobolli around with the drop shot, while he survived an attacking bombardment from the 21-year-old in the third set. The World No. 1 recovered from failing to serve out the match at 5-4, soaking up pressure to immediately break Cobolli’s serve before advancing on his fifth match point.

“It is not too good when losing your serve at 5-4,” Alcaraz said. “But I had to overcome that and forget that. I think I forgot it really quick and I played a great level from 5-5.”

The Spaniard is chasing a second Grand Slam title and first in Paris this fortnight, having triumphed at the US Open last year. He will continue his bid against Taro Daniel after the Japanese player beat Australian Christopher O’Connell 6-0, 6-2, 6-4.

With his one-hour, 58-minute victory, the 2022 quarter-finalist Alcaraz improved to 31-3 on the season. He has captured four tour-level trophies this year, including ATP Masters 1000 crowns in Indian Wells and Madrid.

Cobolli was making his Grand Slam debut after coming through qualifying. The World No. 159, currently seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Live Next Gen Race, was facing a Top 10 opponent for the first time and struck his forehand well at times, but struggled to cope with the World No. 1’s all-court game.

It may have lasted less than two sets, but Alexander Zverev’s Roland Garros semi-final against Rafael Nadal still went down as one of the most gripping matches of 2022.

The Court Philippe Chatrier crowd had witnessed three hours and 13 minutes of absorbing action when Zverev badly rolled his right ankle and was forced to retire in agony when trailing 6-7(8), 6-6. It was an unfortunate end to the German’s bold attempt to become just the fourth player to defeat ATP Tour great Nadal at Roland Garros.

“I went into that match, and I had the belief that I can compete, and played with it,” Zverev told ATPTour.com last month. “That match was starting to get better and better, and my tennis started to get better and better, so it was a bit of an unfortunate time for me to get injured because I really felt like I was on top of my game.”

_{^{Zverev in action on a packed Court Philippe Chatrier. Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images.}}

Zverev had come out firing in his bid to notch a first Grand Slam victory against Nadal. He led 4-2 in the first set before being pegged back by the Spaniard, who was chasing a record-extending 14th title at the clay-court Grand Slam. Even after letting slip four set points from 6/2 in the tie-break en route to losing the first set, the then-World No. 3 Zverev continued to dictate rallies with his heavy groundstrokes in humid conditions under the Court Philippe Chatrier roof.

“I was playing extremely well,” recalled Zverev. “I felt the ball from both sides, I was playing aggressive. It’s tough to pick one [specific] thing [I did well], but I think we were both at the top of our game.

“It was definitely quite difficult, physically. Especially some points in the second set. I think we were both tired. I did feel OK [just before] the injury happened, though. I was feeling like I was still able to compete, I was still able to run to all the things but of course, we had to maybe play three more sets. So of course, the match would have been very, very difficult, and physically as well.”

Nadal went on to defeat Casper Ruud in the championship match in Paris, a victory that took his tournament match record to 112-3. Zverev showed no nerves at taking on an opponent who is renowned for dominating opponents on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“You know it’s nearly impossible to win against him but still, in your mind, you need to believe that,” said Zverev. “If you go on the court against Rafa, or against Novak [Djokovic] for instance, and you’re thinking that you’re not going to win, you might as well just stay home.”

Zverev had torn all three of the lateral ligaments in his right ankle when moving to his right to chase down a Nadal forehand as the Spaniard forced a second-set tie-break. It was immediately clear he would have to retire from the match, and he later underwent surgery. The post-op recovery combined with a bone edema issue that arose in September meant he did not play another competitive match for the rest of the season.

_{^{A concerned Nadal watches on after Zverev rolls his ankle. Photo: Getty Images.}}

Had Zverev defeated Nadal and gone on to lift his maiden major title at Roland Garros, he would also have reached No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings for the first time. Five days after his surgery, he rose to a career-high No. 2, but his push to reach top spot was put painfully on hold.

“Of course, I prefer it not to happen, but it’s part of your journey,” said Zverev. “Sometimes there’s things that you have no control over, and that was one of them. Of course, I would have preferred to keep on playing.

“Even if I lost the match, I had great chances to become World No. 1 in the next few months after that. Even with the injury, I still had a chance to become World No. 1 [due to other players dropping points], so it was funny. Of course I would have preferred to play Wimbledon, to play the US Open and play all the big events.”

On Tuesday, Zverev returns to action at Roland Garros for the first time since his dramatic meeting with Nadal in a first-round clash against Lloyd Harris. While the memories of his misfortune in 2022 will always linger, the highs he hit in the two sets preceding his injury are a source of confidence for the 22nd seed.

“I think it was some of the best tennis that I’ve ever played,” said Zverev. “I think he was playing an extremely high level as well, so the match was very interesting to be a part of.

“It’s sad that it ended the way it ended, in a way, [but] there’s some things that you have no control over in life. That was definitely one of them.”