TIM HENMAN PREVIEWS ROLAND-GARROS 2023

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic being the clear men's singles favourites:

Djokovic’s standard is so high and we expect him to play brilliantly every day but it’s not that easy. His career at this stage is about the majors but he has been building up his timing and resilience for the Grand Slams. I’m sure come the start, he will be one of the favourites.

I would put Alcaraz fractionally ahead of Novak Djokovic because he has played more tennis and had some good results on clay. Djokovic’s career is now just about the majors and he is building his fitness and level of play. The level of these two is just a little bit higher.

Behind is Ruud, Tsitsipas, Rune, Sinner, Rublev – who won his first Masters 1000 in Monte Carlo; they’re all great clay court players. The strength and depth is incredible. But Alcaraz are the two clear favourites. 

Not too many players can beat him on clay. He is so sound. He serve bigger, better and more accurately. He doesn’t make mistakes. His movement is as good as I’ve ever seen. He has great variation, comes to the net, uses dropshots. His forehand and backhand from the back of the court are incredible.  

Could Jannik Sinner beat Alcaraz? Yes. Could Djokovic, yes? But if I had to choose a player to win the match, I would say Carlos.

Alcaraz is probably more like Djokovic than Nadal due to their power and flexibility. They are the two best movers I’ve ever seen. They can change direction, backhand down the line, they can do everything. Alcaraz’s game is impressive as he is so young and has so much variation. He volleys well, uses the dropshots, has a huge future. He has already won a Slam and has a huge future.”

The women's singles favourites:

I love Iga Swiatek's game and she works so hard in every area. Athletically she is improving all the time and she is spending a lot of time and effort improving mentally. She has a great team and she is playing great. On clay she hits the ball very hard but still has margin for error and I definitely think she is the favourite. 

Swiatek is number one by a margin but then you have Jessica Pegula, Coco Gauff who is still developing all the time. Elena Rybakina made the final, Aryna Sabalenka can play great on clay. It’s harder to predict in the women’s game and a lot of players can win Roland-Garros. 

Coco Gauff made the final last year, is very athletic on clay and can do well again this year. Ons Jabeur has great variation and is great to watch. Maria Sakkari is great to watch too and can do some damage.

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