French Open 2022: Alcaraz a firm favourite, admits defending champion Djokovic

World No.1 Novak Djokovic has described Carlos Alcaraz as a 'complete player' and 'talk of the sport' after the 19-year-old won a tour-leading fourth title of the year in Madrid.

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A day after Carlos Alcaraz was crowned Madrid Open champion, World No.1 Novak Djokovic heaped praises on the 19-year-old and said the Spanish teen sensation was a firm favourite for the French Open later this month.

Alcaraz dispatched three top five players -- Rafael Nadal, Djokovic and Alexander Zverev -- en route to becoming the youngest champion at the Caja Magica and capturing his second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner described the Spaniard as a 'complete player' and 'talk of the sport' after Alcaraz won a tour-leading fourth title of the year. "He definitely is special. Already he's breaking a lot of records as a teenager, winning two Masters events this year, and a couple of (ATP) 500s. So far he's the best player in the world, no question, this year," Djokovic told reporters in Rome.

"The way he was dealing with the pressure. I mean, in our match a few days ago, how calm he was all the way... was impressive. He deserved to win the trophy. (At) Roland Garros, he's definitely one of the main favourites, no doubt, even though he has never reached the second week of a Grand Slam. With everything recently that he has achieved, he deserves to be one of the favourites," the French Open defending champion added.

When Alcaraz defeated compatriot Nadal for the first time in his career in the quarter-final in Madrid last week, several tennis enthusiasts noted that it felt like the passing of the torch. And the 13th time French Open champions said he was happy Spain has a bright future in tennis.

"Everybody knows the amount of confidence he has right now, the level that he can reach. (I'm) happy for him, happy because we have an amazing player in our country for a lot of years to come. It's always special to win at home. (It must) have been probably a very special week for him," Nadal said.

Alcaraz is skipping the Rome Masters to recover from the ankle injury and ensure he is fit for the second Grand Slam of the year at Roland Garros, which begins on May 22.