Carlos Alcaraz will begin his hunt for a first French Open title on Sunday, taking on lucky loser JJ Wolf in the second match on Court Philippe-Chatrier. The Spaniard was a semi finalist last year, eventually losing to champion Novak Djokovic in four sets.
Alcaraz has been unable to make much of an impact on his favoured clay, playing just one of the three Masters 1000 events available. A forearm injury has hindered his progress, with only a quarter final in Madrid to his name. Following that with a Rome withdrawal suggests he may have come back too early. “I’m not feeling any pain in the practices when I step on the court. But I’m still thinking about it when I’m hitting forehands,” he said on the current status. “Probably I’m going to say I’m a little bit scared about hitting every forehand 100 per cent. So I have to change [before] my first match, but everything that I’m focusing [on is] that I’m not feeling any pain.”
Wolf is a big serving American who comes into this event with just a 4-7 record on clay this year, including at Challenger level. Two wins against Top 100 players in Turin suggest he is decent enough on clay but it was hard court results that saw him move into the top 50 late last year.
Alcaraz will likely be pleased with his draw, facing an opponent with little pedigree on clay – especially in Europe. He will be able to ease himself back in against an opponent whose main strengths are more suited to hard courts.
Prediction – Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets
