Carlos Alcaraz was dumped out of the Rolex Paris Masters in his opening match as he suffered a 6-3 6-4 defeat to dark horse Roman Safiullin. The world No 45 is enjoying the best season of his career, recently earning scalps against Andy Murray and Alexander Zverev. And he continued his hot streak by getting the biggest win of his career over the world No 2. It marks the first time this year that Alcaraz has lost his first match at any tournament.
Alcaraz was back in action after pulling out of the recent Swiss Indoors with muscle fatigue in his lower back and a problem with the plantar fascia in his left foot. The 20-year-old confirmed that he was “feeling better every day” before arriving in Paris-Bercy, though he was unable to translate that feeling against Safiullin.
As the second seed, Alcaraz received a bye into the second round while the Russian came through qualifying to make the main draw, beating Alexandre Muller in the first round. It looked to be another routine opening match for the Spaniard when he broke in the third game.
But the in-form 26-year-old stormed back, winning five of the next six games to take the opening set 6-3 in under 40 minutes. The second set followed the pattern of the first, as Alcaraz once again took an early break lead that he couldn’t hang onto.
From 3-1 up, the two-time Grand Slam champion lost four games in a row as Safiullin proved relentless, failing to let Alcaraz find any rhythm in the contest. The second seed was able to save one match point with the world No 45 serving for the match but he was only delaying the disappointment as Safiullin got the job done with his second match point after just an hour and 36 minutes.
The loss is a significant one for Alcaraz, as it marks the first time this year that he has been beaten in the opening round at any tournament. At Masters 1000 level, the 20-year-old hadn’t lost his first match since the Canadian Open in August 2022.
It comes as a massive blow to the Spaniard’s hopes of finishing the year as the world No 1. Alcaraz has spent the last few weeks reiterating his goal of returning to the top spot. But current No 1 Novak Djokovic is now primed to finish the season on top for a record eighth time.
The loss will be another painful memory in Paris-Bercy for Alcaraz. 12 months ago, the world No 2 injured his abdomen during his quarter-final match and had to retire, also shutting down his season. And in 2021, he led Hugo Gaston by 5-0 in the second set of their match but was left in tears when he lost seven games in a row, crashing out 6-4 7-5.
Meanwhile, Safiullin continues his stellar season by advancing to the third round, matching his best showing at Masters 1000 level this year. He will now take on compatriot Karen Khachanov. As well as his recent success during the Asian swing, the 26-year-old stormed to his first Grand Slam quarter-final at Wimbledon over the summer and recently reached a career-high ranking of No 41.
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