ALEX CORRETJA PRVIEWS ROLAND-GARROS 2023

Discussing the men's singles favourites:

Carlos Alcaraz is ready to try and win Roland-Garros. His form has been great the whole season and especially on clay. It’s different when it’s the best of five sets but I think he is ready and he has the experience of winning the US Open last year. He had huge expectations last year and lost in the quarters, but he will be up there. 

Djokovic has to be put up there as one of the favourites too. Ruud, Rune, Medevev, Zverev and Tsitsipas can hurt them though too. These guys will be very tough to beat. They are already proving they can do well. Alcaraz will fight for another major though and will look to prove himself.

If Novak is healthy, there is no doubt that his goal will be to win this tournament. There is no doubt about his form or motivation, so it just comes down to his fitness. He knows how to win at Roland-Garros and has more majors than anyone else, together with Rafael Nadal.

Djokovic's clay court preparation has not been the best, but there are enough matches and time as the tournament goes on for him to be in great shape. 

He is one of the greatest players in history. Novak doesn’t need to be world no.1; he wants majors. He is entering the tournament with whatever he needs. If people don’t talk about him, he will not care, he will be ready. He has so much experience and knows what to expect.

Discussing the women's singles favourites:

I’m predicting a very interesting women’s draw. Swiatek got through very easily last year but she dealt extremely well with the pressure of doing so. Rybakina and Sabalenka have been doing really well on clay and hard courts so it will be really interesting. 

I have seen Rybakina here and she played so well to beat Serena Williams in 2021. I’m not surprised about her form now too because she dictates so well with her serve forehand and backhand. It’s great for tennis to have these three to create a mentality where they all need to improve because their opponents are so good. If they relax the others will pass them so it’s great to see them fighting so well.

Swiatek was a superwoman last year. Her opponents feel better about themselves now however. Sabalenka and Rybakina are moving and playing better than before. They don’t miss too many balls and hit it very hard. That’s why they play much better. They respect Iga a lot because she is a winner and a fighter until the end. Iga still has a lot of respect from their opponents.

Swiatek doesn’t have a huge serve but her backhand and groundstrokes are so good. Her footwork is incredible and her mentality is incredible.

It’s a bit more open than last year but I still think Iga Swiatek is the favourite ahead of [Elena] Rybakina and [Aryna] Sabalenka.

Watch every match from Roland-Garros on Eurosport and discovery+.