Tim Henman, a former British tennis player, believes that Novak Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz are the favorites for Roland Garros.
However, he still gives a little better chance to the young Spaniard, who has become the best tennis player in the world since Monday.
“It would be an amazing match to watch. Djokovic’s standard is high and we expect him to play brilliantly every day, and that is not easy. At this stage of his career, he is focused on the Slams. I’m sure, at the beginning, he is one of the favorites. I would put Alkaras ahead of Djokovic because he played more tennis and achieved good results on clay,” Henman began and added:
“Djokovic now has the Slams in first place and he is building his fitness and level of play for them. The level of the two is a little higher. Behind are Ruud, Tsitsipas, Sinner and Rublev, who won his first Masters in Monte Carlo. They are all great clay players. They are strong, but Alcaraz and Djokovic are the two obvious favorites”.
Tim does not hide how much he is fascinated by the movement of Alcaraz.
“Not many players can beat Alcaraz on clay. He is healthy, serves stronger, better. He doesn’t make mistakes. His movement is the best I’ve seen. He has the ability to vary, goes to the net, uses drop-shots. His forehands and backhands from the last part of the court are incredible”.
However, Henman did not reject Jannik Sinner either.
“Can Sinner beat Alcaraz? That. Could Djokovic, yes? If I had to choose a player to win, I’d say it’s Carlos. Alcaraz is probably more like Djokovic than Nadal because of his strength and flexibility. Those two are the two players who have the best movement I’ve ever seen. They can change direction, shoot the backhand to the line, they can do everything. Alcaraz’s game is impressive despite being so young. He plays volleys well, uses drop shots. He has already won a Slam and has a great future”.
What will now be the main topic is what great rivalry will arise in the “white sport”.
“We were lucky to have great rivalries, now we are looking for the next one. It would be great if Carlos plays Djokovic a few more times before Novak retires. Looking at Sinner and Alcaraz, they had great matches and it could be a great rivalry. Holger Rune is a great competitor, still young,” Henman concluded.
