Alcaraz beats Perricard in first Beijing assignment

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Carlos Alcaraz beat big-serving Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in straight sets to advance to the second round of the China Open on Friday.

Breaks in the opening games of each set put Alcaraz on course for a 6-4 6-4 win in his opening match at the ATP 500-level event in Beijing, where he was on court for 81 minutes.

Perricard won 81% of points behind his first serve, displaying impressive firepower after those early wobbles, but Alcaraz was never unduly threatened after surviving some early pressure on his own serve.

The Spaniard only dropped one point through his final three service games as he cruised to victory, teeing up a second-round match against Tallon Griekspoor.

Meanwhile, last year's runner-up Daniil Medvedev also made a confident start in the Chinese capital, downing Gael Monfils 6-3 6-4 in 92 minutes.

Medvedev converted five of his 10 opportunities to break, taking advantage of an inconsistent performance from Monfils as the Frenchman committed 46 unforced errors.

The Russian, who lost to Jannik Sinner in last year's China Open final, will face Adrian Mannarino in the second round.

Data Debrief: Medvedev's slow pace

Medvedev's victory over Monfils was his 40th in 56 matches in 2024. Only in 2018 (61 matches) did he require more outings to bring up his first 40 wins of a season.

But back at an event where he went agonisingly close to glory last year, Medvedev produced a composed performance, offering up just 22 unforced errors.