Carlos Alcaraz weighs in on his chances of winning Roland Garros after comeback from injury

The second Grand Slam of the season, Roland Garros, is around the corner, but first, tennis stars have the chance to launch their candidacy in Rome. On the men’s side, all eyes are on Jannik Sinner, who is returning from his three-month suspension, and on Carlos Alcaraz, who won in Monte Carlo but could not compete in Madrid due to injuries.

The Spaniard, who is the current French Open champion, says that he feels confident about his chances of defending his title despite struggling with an adductor injury on his right leg and a hamstring injury on his left leg.

“Yeah, last year was even more difficult,” he responded when asked about his Roland Garros chances, referring to an injury in his arm. “But here, yeah, I couldn’t play Madrid. It was a special tournament for me, which was the same for me not being able to play there.”

He continued, “But I could play really good tournaments, Monte-Carlo, Barcelona, good matches. Right now, I stopped a little bit. I just tried to recover from the injury, which I wasn’t worried about at all. So, I have confidence. The practices have been well. Just excited to start the tournament,” he said about Rome.

Carlos Alcaraz in press conference ahead of his debut at the Italian Open (Getty Images)

“I would say the first round in every tournament is never easy, you have to get used to the conditions, the tournament, the court, everything. But I’m just excited. I can’t wait for tomorrow. I think my level is in a good spot,” he added.

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Carlos Alcaraz faces Dusan Lajovic in Rome

Alcaraz is only making his second appearance at the Italian Open, as he missed the event last year due to his arm injury. The Spaniard, the third seed, will debut against Serbian Dusan Lajovic on Friday.

Lajovic is a two-time tour-level champion, finalist in Monte-Carlo in 2019 and former World No. 23. However, he currently sits at No. 131 in the ATP Rankings, after having to miss some tournaments last season due to an ankle injury.