The absence of ‘King of Clay’ Rafael Nadal from the French Open this year is going to hurt a lot of fans. However, it has also paved the way for other players to make a name for themselves this year at the major. That includes Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic too. Apart from him, the eyes are going to be on Rafa’s compatriot Carlos Alcaraz Garfia.

With his impressive performances on the court in recent times, he seems to be one of the prime contenders for winning the Roland Garros. After Alcaraz’s win in the Madrid Open, a former Spanish professional tennis player, Alex Corretja explained why tennis fans are expecting a lot from him.

All  eyes are on Carlos Alcaraz Garfia and Novak Djokovic for the upcoming French Open

Being the world no 1 and world no 2 in the ATP rankings, Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz seem to be the favorites for the next clay court grand slam event. Before the unfortunate second-round defeat at the Italian Open, Alcaraz secured victories at Barcelona Open as well as Madrid Open during the clay-court swing.

After Nadal confirmed his withdrawal from the French Open, the spotlight is going to be on Alcaraz and Djokovic. In an interview with Eurosport, the former tennis player, Corretja stated, “It will definitely have an impact on Alcaraz.”

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Bringing in the Serbian tennis legend, Corretja stated, “All eyes will be on him and on Novak.”  However, he noted why more eyes are going to be on Alcaraz. He stated. “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.” 

However, Alex believes that Garfia is not fearful of the weight of expectations, and will rise up to the occasion. Corretja added, “Knowing Alcaraz, he will be okay to deal with that. He loves that.”

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Moreover, he does have some worries about Alcaraz following in Nadal’s footsteps. He added, “He will definitely need to cope with all the attention and everyone asking him about being the favorite and the next Spanish winner, etc.”

Interestingly, ‘Djoker’ had something very interesting to say about his rivalry with Alcaraz.

How does Djokovic perceive the idea of a “long-distance” rivalry with Alcaraz?

Recently, the Serbian tennis legend commended the gameplay of the young tennis sensation Alcaraz. Not sidelining Rafael Nadal, he tagged Alcaraz as a crowd favorite.

When an interviewer tagged his rivalry with Alcaraz as a “long-distance one”, Djokovic found it “romantic.” 

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Do you think Djokovic and Alcaraz will face other in the upcoming French Open? Let us know in the comments below.