Carlos Alcaraz is ready to take top billing at a grand slam for the first time as he steps into Rafael Nadal’s clay-court shoes.
With the 14-time champion choosing to sit out a chunk of the season ahead of an expected swansong next year, Spanish hopes at the French Open now rest on Alcaraz’s broad shoulders.
The 20-year-old claimed his first grand slam title at the US Open last summer but was forced to sit out the Australian Open through injury so will be entering a major as a slam champion for the first time.
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He is also the number one seed after surpassing Novak Djokovic following back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid.
“For me it’s still crazy to see myself as top seed in a grand slam,” he said. “But at the same time it’s great. It’s something that I work for to be there. I’m really happy to be number one seed here at Roland Garros.”
Alcaraz’s swift rise and instant popularity has been a gift to the sport as it faces losing all of its long-time figureheads.
Nadal will miss the tournament for the first time since 2004, and his young compatriot said: “I felt bad when I heard that Rafa, he was not able to play here in Roland Garros and probably the rest of the year.
“As a fan of tennis, I always want to watch Rafa playing. I always want to watch the best players in the world playing the tournaments. And of course learning from them really close, here in the locker rooms, around the club, the tournament, for me is great.
“When I heard that it was tough to understand how it’s going to be without Rafa this year. Hopefully we’ll see him next year and he’s 100 per cent.”
Nadal cited the Paris Olympics, where the tennis will be held at Roland Garros, as a key target for next season, and Alcaraz welcomed the idea of the two men playing doubles together for Spain.
“It could be a dream playing doubles with him in the Olympics,” he said. “So of course let’s see. Let’s see how he’s doing and how he’s going this year. Hopefully he’s going great.”
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Alcaraz could potentially meet Djokovic in the semi-finals, with Daniil Medvedev having overtaken the Serbian to claim the second seeding by virtue of winning his first tour title on clay at the Italian Open last weekend.
Medvedev lost in the first round on his first four appearances at Roland Garros before reaching the quarter-finals in 2021 and the fourth round last year.
Asked if he now believes he can win the French Open, the Russian said: “I don’t know. Because I also don’t want to put too much pressure on myself. But what happened in Rome was amazing, especially beating a lot of good players.
“That’s an amazing feeling, and I’m for sure maybe having more expectation than I usually had in Roland Garros. But I know that it’s also tricky and you have to use this confidence, but not get cocky, because that’s where the danger is.
“Sometimes you think, ‘Oh, well, I played so well, now it’s going to be easy’. Then the first round you have problems. You can get angry and maybe lose the match. So I have been in this situation many times, and I just want to try to play good tennis here in Roland Garros.”
Djokovic recovers from slow start to move past Michelsen on Shanghai return
Novak Djokovic marked his Shanghai Masters return with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Alex Michelsen.
The four-time champion, who is appearing in this event for the first time since 2019, required two tie-breaks before prevailing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9) in just under two hours.
Djokovic, still donning a protective sleeve over his right knee, made a slow start in only his second match since losing to Alexei Popyrin in the US Open third round, winning just four points in the first three games as he fell 4-1 behind.
However, the 24-time major winner broke back in the seventh game before dominating the tie-break for first blood.
Roles were reversed in the second set as Michelsen cancelled out an earlier break in game seven.
However, the American squandered two set points to level and was eventually punished by Djokovic, who will play either 28th seed Flavio Cobolli or three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the next round.
Data Debrief: Djokovic continues American dominance
Djokovic was given an early scare, but his experience eventually showed as he came through.
Including team events, the Serb has now won his last 33 ATP-level matches against American opponents, with his last such defeat coming against Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in 2016.
The 24-time major winner also demonstrated his determination when the pressure intensified, and he has now come through 12 of his 16 tie-breaks played this season.
Gauff fights back to beat Badosa in China Open semi-finals
Coco Gauff recovered from a set and a break down to reach the China Open final with a 4-6 6-4 6-2 victory over Paula Badosa on Saturday.
Having given up an early break in the opener, Gauff got one of her own by converting her eighth break point in a mammoth eighth game featuring 10 deuces, only for Badosa to hit back immediately to go a set up.
Gauff lost serve immediately in the second set to go on the back foot, only to level the match with back-to-back breaks, the second of them to love.
The decider began with a series of breaks, Gauff taking two of them as the momentum swung her way, then she protected her lead all the way to reach her first final since winning January's Auckland Open.
The 20-year-old is the youngest player to reach the women's singles final at the China Open since Caroline Wozniacki in 2010.
She has fought from a set down to win in each of her last three matches, the first time she has done so in her career. She is the first player to do so in WTA-1000 events since Iga Swiatek at Indian Wells 2022.
Data Debrief: Gauff brings up century
Saturday's match was Gauff's 100th at WTA 1000-level events, and her 67th such victory.
Among American players, only Serena Williams (87), Venus Williams and Jessica Pegula (70) have bettered her 67 wins through their first 100 matches at such events.
Alcaraz beats home favourite Shang in Shanghai opener
Carlos Alcaraz began his Shanghai Open campaign with a straight-sets win over China's Shang Juncheng, bringing up his 10th straight victory.
Just three days on from his epic victory over Jannik Sinner in the China Open final, Alcaraz recorded a 6-2 6-2 win over Shang inside one hour and 17 minutes.
The four-time grand slam winner wasted no time by breaking in the very first game of the encounter, then repeated the trick six games later to take the opener, avoiding any pressure as he won 82% of his first-serve points.
Alcaraz produced the shot of the match early in the second set, producing a brilliant backhand flick to salvage a point while backtracking from the net.
Back-to-back breaks midway through the second set sealed Alcaraz's 10th straight victory, after which he hailed the performance of his 19-year-old opponent.
"I'm not used to playing against players younger than me," Alcaraz said. "He has been playing good tennis lately, winning his first ATP title [in Chengdu], so I'm pretty sure he's going to climb the rankings.
"At the net he told me that it's a pleasure share the court with you. So these kinds of things that I hear from younger players, it's great."
Data Debrief: Double figures for Alcaraz
Alcaraz's victory was his 10th in succession since he suffered a shock second-round defeat to Botic van de Zandschulp at the US Open in August.
He will face another Chinese player in the next round, taking on world number 560 Wu Yibing.
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