French Open: Carlos Alcaraz Comes In As The Top Seed For The First Time

Carlos Alcaraz heads into a Grand Slam as the favorite for the first time at the French Open, with the shortfall of holder Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s fitness battles, offering him the opportunity to win a subsequent major and to cement his No 1 status.

The Spaniard, then 20 years old, missed the Australian Open because of abdominal and hamstring injuries that kept him out for three months. However, he has been making up for lost time by winning in Buenos Aires upon his return and winning two more claycourt titles in Barcelona and Madrid.

Despite being knocked out in the third round of the Rome tournament by Hungarian qualifier Fabian Marozsan earlier this month, Alcaraz, who won the US Open last year and became the youngest person to reach the top of the world rankings, has jumped ahead of Djokovic once more to the top spot.

With his athleticism and warrior spirit resembling that of fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who will be absent from Roland Garros this year due to injury, Alcaraz, the Indian Wells champion, has been the player to beat on the circuit except for that brief blip.

According to former French Open runner-up Alex Corretja, the 14-time champion Nadal’s absence could put even more pressure on Alcaraz, and he backed the youngster to succeed at the Grand Slam from May 28 to June 11.

As per Corretja, all eyes will be on Alcaraz, Novak, and all the other potential favorites; but being Spanish and knowing that Rafa is not going to be there, all the attention is going to be on him on the men’s side.

“Knowing Alcaraz, he will be okay to deal with that, I’m sure. He loves that, which is amazing and very impressive, but he’ll need to cope with all the attention and everyone asking him about being the favourite and the next Spanish winner, Corretja said.

“Losing in Rome was the best thing that could have happened to him, because he will have lost a bit of expectation and relaxed a little bit.”

In contrast to Alcaraz, Djokovic has won the title in Paris twice, in 2016 and 2021. However, the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s preparation for the tournament has not been flawless.

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The 36-year-old Serbian was forced to withdraw from Madrid because of a problem with his elbow. He was also hindered by an unidentified physical issue in Rome before losing in the quarterfinals and falling to third place in the rankings after Daniil Medvedev won.

Previous Roland Garros semifinalist Tim Henman was anxious to see Djokovic face Alcaraz in Paris.

“It would be an incredible match to watch,” he added.

“Djokovic’s standard is so high and we expect him to play brilliantly every day, but it’s not that easy. His career at this stage is about the majors but he’s been building up his timing and resilience for the Grand Slams.

“I’d put Alcaraz fractionally ahead of Djokovic, because he has played more tennis and had some good results on clay.”

Djokovic said the next generation’s growing impact on the tour was like a breath of fresh air and is well aware of the threat posed by Alcaraz.

“He’s been playing some impressive tennis, a great level,” Djokovic said in Rome. “He’s the player to beat on this surface, no doubt.”