French Open 2024: Casper Ruud moves into second round

Two-time French Open finalist Casper Ruud moved into the second round of the 2024 tournament with a routine 6-3 6-4 6-3 win over Brazil’s Felipe Meligeni Alves.

Norwegian Ruud, 25, lost to Rafael Nadal in the 2022 final at Roland Garros and Novak Djokovic in the 2023 showpiece.

The match took place under the roof on Court Philippe Chatrier on a day when wet weather in Paris meant no play on any of the outside courts until late afternoon.

Seventh seed Ruud failed to take three break points in the sixth game and another three in the eighth game, before breaking Meligeni Alves’ serve and closing out the opening set.

The 26-year-old Brazilian, ranked 137th in the world, then found himself an early break down in the next two sets as Ruud cruised to a straightforward victory.

“It has been a good clay season for me,” said Ruud.

“This is one of the biggest tournaments for me, one of my highlights, and the last two years have given me so much here in Paris, so I hope I can make it another good year.”

Elsewhere, Australian 11th seed Alex de Minaur cruised to a straight-set win over American Alex Michelsen, winning 6-1 6-0 6-2.

Novak Djokovic will begin his title defence later on Tuesday when he takes on France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the night session on Chatrier.