Carlos Alcaraz debuts this Monday at Roland Garros against the Italian Flavio Cobolli, 21 years old and 159 in the world. A regular at challenger tournaments, the transalpine man managed to sneak into the final draw of a Grand Slam for the first time thanks to the previous phase.
For his part, the Murcian faces the conquest of Roland Garros, the first Grand Slam that he plays as number 1 in the world, a position he reached for the first time after winning his first major last year at the US Open.
There would be no Novak Djokovic final, but they would face each other in the semifinals. The draw wanted to place the Serbian, double winner of the Grand Slam on clay, in his part of the draw. First, he will have to beat Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, a finalist in 2021, in the quarterfinals, whom the Spaniard has defeated in their four previous duels, the last in this year's final in Barcelona.
Alcaraz will have Juan Carlos Ferrero by his side, who knows what it's like to win Roland Garros, but also what it's like not to win it when everyone thinks you're the favourite. The Spaniard, who is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of his triumph in Paris, is now Carlos Alcaraz's guide, for many the great favorite of the edition.
The great absentee from this edition will be Rafa Nadal for not having recovered from physical problems. "Hopefully he recovers as soon as possible. There is one year left and we will see how we are both," said Alcaraz, who said he felt "very sad" when he found out about the loss of the Majorcan.
"As a fan of tennis and of Rafa, I love watching him play. I really like watching the best, you learn things. It was bad news and I was wondering what would happen without him here. I hope he comes back 100 percent next year." stressed the tennis player from El Palmar.
The match between Carlos Alcaraz and Flavio Cobolli at Roland Garros will be played this Monday, May 29 in the third shift, not before 2:15 p.m. The match can be seen on Eurosport television and can also be followed live on the La Vanguardia website.
