Carlos Alcaraz is feeling “a little bit scared” ahead of the French Open, but he’s not letting that fear hold him back from aiming for victory. Even though the 20-year-old has several concerns, especially with his forehand, Serena Williams’ childhood coach believes the Spaniard has a good chance of winning Roland Garros this year. And he’s rebuffing the World No. 1 and 2 in favor of Alcaraz.

Rick Macci took to his Twitter handle and sided with betting favorites for the two-time Grand Slam champion, leaving Jannik Sinner, and reigning champion Novak Djokovic out of the conversation. He wrote, “My prediction to win the French and it will his first of many is Alcaraz. If he is healthy and Fit determined with no Quit balanced on every Hit he will be last standing the others will Sit. @carlosalcaraz”

With odds in his favor at +260, Carlos Alcaraz has become one of the strongest competitors in the field of French Open betting odds. Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic, despite his previous dominance, faces tougher odds at +330 following a challenging quarter. Rafael Nadal, who is usually a formidable opponent on clay, is presently favored at 25-1 after Round 1 after facing Zverev.

On the other hand, the third-ranked player is closely followed by Jannik Sinner, who has odds of +450, and Alexander Zverev, who has odds of +700. The world number three performed well at Roland Garros a year ago, making it to the quarterfinals before losing to Novak Djokovic, the ultimate winner. His tournament preparations this year, meanwhile, have not been easy.

Alcaraz withdrew from Barcelona and Rome due to a right forearm issue that he had battled throughout the clay-court season. His defeat over Andrey Rublev in the Madrid Open quarterfinals demonstrated his fitness issues. Alcaraz is optimistic despite these losses; he concedes that he might need to modify his strategy for his first-round matchup with J.J. Wolf, but he stayed upbeat when speaking with the media in Paris.

He stated, “I’m not feeling any pain when I step on the court in practice, but I’m still thinking about it when I am hitting forehands. I’m a little bit scared about hitting every forehand 100 percent, so I have to change it in my first match. It’s Roland Garros, and it’s a really special tournament. Everybody wants to have good results here. This tournament is one of the main reasons that I’m practicing every day.” Not only that, Jon Wertheim also confidently stated just a few days ago that the two-time Grand Slam champion can win his first French Open title this year.

Tennis journalist picks Carlos Alcaraz as his Roland Garros choice 

In an interview with Tennis Channel, the journalist hinted that Carlos Alcaraz may face Novak Djokovic again when they prepare for the French Open following their injury recovery. But concurrently, the Spaniard will overcome him and win his first French Open championship.

He said, “This is where he (Alcaraz) comes to play. Lot of time to make his way into the tournament. I think Novak makes a deep run but I think we’ll get a repeat of that great match last year, but this time I feel Alcaraz wins his first title at Roland Garros.”

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what Alcaraz brings to the table at this French Open. Who are you rooting for at the 2024 Roland Garros? Let us know your picks in the comments below!