Carlos Alcaraz gets the keys to his new home

Spanish teenager Carlos Alcaraz’s much-hyped debut didn’t disappoint, but it was a mostly dismal day for the Australians.

Spain's Carlos Alcaraz was excited to be the centre of attention at Roland Garros

Carlos Alcaraz’s first appearance on Court Philippe-Chatrier carried the vibe of someone moving into a new home. He might be there a while. Rafael Nadal’s tenancy is coming to an end and Alcaraz can have the joint to himself soon enough.

The only bloke more contented by his fresh surroundings on Monday was the one getting the keys to Kirribilli House.

Alcaraz annihilated Argentine journeyman Juan Ignacio Londero 6-4, 6-2, 6-0 in an electrifying debut on Roland Garros’s main empire of dirt.

The 19-year-old Spanish phenom behaved like an excitable and ambitious young cricketer playing his first Test at Lord’s; he behaved like a mega-confident and super-fit young footballer playing his first AFL grand final at the MCG; he behaved like anyone who’s arrived somewhere they have always wanted to be.

When Carlos was asked about Carlos, Carlos replied: “I would say the best thing about being Carlos right now is that I’m reaching my dream. I’m really happy with playing tennis and playing these kind of tournaments. It’s a unique place to play and I have been dreaming of playing here. This kind of stadium is not for everyone.”

Alcaraz’s introduction to the French Open’s biggest and most beautiful court was a bizzarely tricky little occasion. After constantly being told, and telling himself, he could win the tournament, he had to go out and actually start winning matches. It was somewhat surreal, as if the young bloke was walking into everyone’s expectations, and his own, and trying to prove all the hype was justified.

The World No.6 was edgy and mistake-riddled in the opening set before powering home to set up what was meant to be a mouth-watering clash against Thanasi Kokkinakis – only for the mercurial Australian to be bundled out by Spain’s World No.44 Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Zut alors.

It was Kokkinakis’s second loss this year when a blockbuster fixture at a major was at his fingertips. He was drawn to face Nadal in round two at the Australian Open before coughing up a horrible defeat to German qualifier Yannick Hanfmann.

Perhaps expectation isn’t for everyone – although this was a more meritorious exit than his shocker at Melbourne Park.

Alcaraz would have been thrilled to see Kokkinakis wiped out of the draw. Ramos-Vinolas looms as a predictable foe. The big-hitting Kokkinakis would have been dangerous. The riddle around Kokkinakis has become his ability to play great against the greatest great players … but he can’t always shake off the plucky little fighters like Ramos-Vinolas, who snuck through 6-4, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) in a four-hours-and-seven-minutes contest decided by just a couple of points here and there.

Kokkinakis constantly looked ready to steamroll the least threatening left-handed Spaniard in town, but as can happen in tennis, thanks to the weirdest of all scoring systems, the best player probably lost. His clothes were clay-stained and sweat-soaked when he trotted to the net and told Ramos-Vinolas: “Good job.”

It was an underwhelming day for Australians at the start of the post-Ash Barty era. Alexei Popyrin, Chris O’Connell, Astra Sharma and Kokkinakis all went down the gurgler before Brisbane qualifier Jason Kubler, playing the last match of the day out on Roland Garros’ smallest court, pulled off a gutsy 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-3) win over American world No.80 Denis Kudla.

Back in the grand old days of Barty slicing and dicing, success was winning a major. Without her, it will be an achievement when an Australian player wins a match or reaches the giddy heights of round four.

“I don’t know if I saved the day but I’m personally super-happy I got through,” Kubler said. “It’s only the second time I’ve won a main draw match, which in itself is pretty exciting.”

Alcaraz was the main attraction. Didn’t disappoint. Were we seeing the arrival of the sport’s next superstar? Or just seeing what we wanted to see?

He nervously walked up the stairs to Court Philippe-Chatrier. His eyes were darting, spine was tingling. He wasn’t sure what to do or when to do it. Stand here? When do I go out?

The stadium had been deserted for Ons Jabeur’s shock 11am loss to Poland’s Magda Linette, but it was packed for Alcaraz. He’s put fear into the hearts of Nadal and Novak Djokovic this claycourt season … and he’s putting bums on seats.

He didn’t wait for the match to start to come out swinging. He was jumping out of his skin at the coin toss, doing vertical leaps and hitting shadow groundstrokes at full velocity as if they were about to slug it out over 12 rounds instead of five sets.

Initially fidgety and impatient for his swearing-in ceremony, Alcaraz looked a stranger to one of the world’s most famous arenas for the first eight games, which finished at a head-scratching four-all.

The blink of an eye later, he was peeling off games like he was back in the juniors, so comfortable in his new surroundings that he could have hung a family photo on the wall. He received rousing applause from the Parisian patrons. A welcome to the neighbourhood.

“I’m really happy with my first match in the Philippe-Chatrier,” he said. “It’s a great court and I hope to play many more matches on it.”