Carlos Alcaraz stunned the tennis world last September when he swept to victory in the US Open at Indian Wells without dropping a set.
The teenager’s stunning success saw him become the first male player to win a title in that manner since Roger Federer’s magnificent effort at Wimbledon in 2017.
Alcaraz has been widely tipped to be the next big thing in tennis and he is fancied to highlight the validity of that statement by winning at Roland Garros.
Most of the top bookmakers make Novak Djokovic the favourite to claim the title, but Alcaraz is the value bet to get the job done.
Punters in the United Kingdom and Ireland can back the Spaniard at odds of 11/5, which looks too good to ignore given his meteoric rise.
The sites listed at Bettingtop10 Ireland list Djokovic at a best-priced 7/4, while Rafael Nadal is third in the outright market at 7/2.
The multi-Grand Slam winners are inevitably taking a big chunk out of the market, making Alcaraz a hugely backable price to win the tournament.
A quick look at some of his career achievements to date demonstrate why Alcaraz can give the sport’s big guns a headache at the French Open.
The 19-year-old is the first teenager to beat Nadal on clay and the first teenager to ever reach world number one in the rankings during the Open era.
He is also the first male teenager to win the US Open since 1990 – matching the achievement of Pete Sampras who went on to dominate the sport.
Alcaraz’s surge up the rankings bears similarities to the way Nadal broke onto scene nearly 20 years ago and appears to be a natural heir to his compatriot.
Nadal has long been the dominant force at Roland Garros, winning the French Open title a record 14 times during his glittering career.
The only other player to get in on the act in the last seven years is Djokovic, who claimed the prestigious trophy in 2016 and 2021.
However, the Serbian was defeated by Alcaraz in their only match to date and has often struggled to produce his very best form on clay.
Nadal’s awesome record in the French Open means it would be foolish to underestimate him, but the Spaniard is not getting any younger.
The 36-year-old has been plagued by injuries and there is a feeling that his time at the top of the sport is coming to an end.
By contrast, Alcaraz is a fine physical specimen with a long career ahead of him and will likely win numerous Grand Slams over the next few years.
He will rightly head into the French Open in a confident mood and is strongly fancied to see off the Djokovic and Nadal in May.
