"Even if Rafael Nadal had been there, I would not have given myself less chances to win," said Carlos Alcaraz, world No. 1 and main favorite of Roland-Garros with Novak Djokovic in the absence of the king of clay, Friday two days before the Paris Grand Slam. Passed in front of the press during the traditional "media day", Alcaraz did not hide his ambitions, he who won at the US Open last September his first major tournament and became, in the process, world No. 1 for the first time in his career.
"I don't feel more pressure because I'm No. 1 in the world or No. 1 seed. "I know very well why I'm here, what I have to do, how I have to play, feel: not so much focusing on wanting to do a good result to stay No. 1 or something like that, but playing my game, having fun. And from there, the good results will come. I would say I'm more mature than last year, mentally I'm better, and I read better what's happening on the court, for me that's really important. »
Winning in Barcelona and Madrid before losing in Rome in the second round to Marozsan, Alcaraz arrived at Roland with a clay court campaign behind him. And knows, even if he says otherwise, that Nadal's absence changes everything. "Obviously when Rafa is here, in what is his tournament, it's more complicated... But I've always said I've never been afraid of anyone, and even if he had been there, I wouldn't have given myself any less chance of winning the tournament. I'm ambitious like that... And like I said, I don't feel much pressure either because the eyes are more on me now, in Rafa's absence. »
