This Thursday the draw for the main draws at Roland Garros was held and the world number one, Carlos Alcaraz, already knows that Novak Djokovic is on his horizon. The recent triumph of the Russian Daniil Medvedev in Rome produced a final twist of the script and moved the Serb to the third step of the ranking of the ATP; in this way, the name of Nole appeared as a potential threat before the final and luck provided a confluence of paths. The Serbian fell on his side, so in the event that both progress they would meet in the penultimate round of the tournament.
Before the organization of the great Frenchman made the draw, Alcaraz trained with the Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka on the center court and later carefully followed the layout that the hype suggests; nothing easy, since in a theoretical (always theoretical) round of 16 crossover he could meet Cameron Norrie or Lorenzo Musetti and, on the next scale, with the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, before the volcanic fight with Djokovic.
The 36-year-old Balkan has the opportunity to raise his twenty-third major (third in Paris) and thus govern his sport alone, without the company of the absent Rafael Nadal. The one from Belgrade will debut against Aleksandar Kovacevic, while Alcaraz will face on Monday or Tuesday against a player from the previous phase or a lucky loser (refished). The initial ramps suggest size obstacles for Nole, in whose branch he warns of dangers such as those of Marton Fucsovics, Davidovich or Andrey Rublev.
If he manages to land in the last episode, he could play for the title with Medvedev, the tennis player who hates clay and who now, crowned at the Foro Italico and with more wins (39) than anyone else this season, presents a candidacy against all odds. In any case, the history reflects that the quarterfinals reached by the Muscovite two years ago are his limit in Paris, as well as that between 2017 and 2020 he chained four successive falls in the first rounds; Last year he made a noteworthy feint (eighths) and now everyone fears him, as he is unpredictable and capable of anything.
Medvedev –inserted in the quadrant that would match him with Alex de Miñaur, Yannik Sinner or Casper Ruud– constantly plays the mistaken; in the opposite sense, the young Holger Rune expresses himself loud and clear: “I want to win a Grand Slam this year; I have said it and I stand by it. I hope to be able to achieve it here, in Paris, and if not in the other two big ones”. The Dane, 20 years old and quarterfinalist a year ago, in his first appearance, pushes from the second row and bursts in as another of the alternatives to take into account. He, Sinner and Ruud, defeated by Nadal in the 2022 final, represent the second unit of applicants.
Just a couple of days before the starting gun, the Bois de Boulogne warms up and Alcaraz warms up. The Spanish male representation will be made up of him, Roberto Bautista (Yibing Wu), Alejandro Davidovich (Arthur Fils), Bernabé Zapata (Diego Schwartzman), Roberto Carballés (previous), Albert Ramos (Stanislas Wawrinka) and Jaume Munar (Francisco Cerúndolo). Among the girls, Bucsa will collide with the number one, Iga Swiatek; He masarova with Coco Gauff; Nuria Párrizas will face a rival from the previous one; and Sara Sorribes, to the local Clara Burel.
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