Alfie Hewett wasn't hanging around after finally starting his Paralympic campaign in Paris.
It's just a few weeks since Novak Djokovic arrived at Roland Garros looking to complete the career Golden Slam with a previously elusive Olympic gold.
Norwich’s Hewett is a man on the same mission, the 30-time major champion’s singles silver medal eight years ago in Rio his best return from the Games.
After two days of watching the action, top seed Hewett, 26, took just 53 minutes to beat Israel’s Sergei Lysov 6-0 6-1 on the Philippe Chatrier show court. Japan's Daisuke Arai now awaits in the last 16, the Brit benefiting from a first-round bye.
"I’m very happy. It’s actually quite difficult when the tournament has been going on for two days and you’ve been on the practice court," said Hewett.
"You just want to embrace it and get in the thick of it and I’ve seen what the atmosphere has been like on all the courts, so I just wanted to get going. It was so much fun out there, it’s one of the most enjoyable matches I’ve played."
The iconic home of the French Open has been a happy hunting ground for Hewett. Alongside long-time doubles partner Gordon Reid, they are unbeaten on the Paris clay since 2020. He also won three singles title here, though the most recent was three years ago.
"It’s a unique experience for us to have loads and loads of people watching and the noise has been mind-blowing, so you’ve got to just enjoy it and not try to put the stress and pressure of winning.
“It’s been an incredible few days and I hope more and more fans come and watch throughout the week. It’s very different from the normal French Open atmosphere.”
Top seeds Hewett and Reid start their doubles campaign against Chile's Alexander Cataldo and Bryan Tapia, looking to upgrade their silvers from 2016 and 2020.
Aldi are proud Official Partners of Team GB & ParalympicsGB, supporting all athletes through to Paris 2024.
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