Heavy rain meant there was no play on the outside courts on Saturday.
Earlier on Chatrier – which has a roof – Novak Djokovic’s bid for a much-wanted Olympic gold medal began in style with a 6-0 6-1 demolition of Matt Ebden.
Serbia’s Djokovic has won almost everything there is in tennis but has never bettered his Olympic bronze from Beijing 2008.
He needed just 53 minutes to beat Australia’s Ebden, who was playing his first singles match for two years.
Ebden, primarily a doubles player, knew he was facing one of the toughest tasks in tennis – as his social media post on the day of the draw showed., external
And it was exactly as he’d feared: after 30 minutes, he was 6-0 2-0 down and looked to be out of ideas.
He tried everything – including an underarm serve that Djokovic still returned – before jokingly offering his racquet to a group in the crowd to see if they could do any better.
The biggest cheer of the afternoon came when Ebden finally got on the board for 4-1 in the second set.
Ebden put his shirt over his head and celebrated towards the crowd, who gave him a standing ovation, before an amused Djokovic patted him on the shoulder as they went to their chairs.
Djokovic may have wished for slightly tougher opposition to find his rhythm on the court, but he will welcome a quick victory nonetheless.
He could potentially play long-time rival Nadal next, although the Spaniard will need to beat Hungary’s Marton Fuscovics to progress.
Alcaraz made quick progress in his singles match, beating Lebanese Hady Habib 6-3 6-1, while Daniil Medvedev saw off Australia’s Rinky Hijikata 6-1 6-2.
With no play possible on the outside courts on Saturday, Britons Jack Draper, Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Katie Boulter have to wait an extra day to begin their singles campaigns.
