Novak Djokovic acknowledged on Thursday that Carlos Alcaraz, who will be world number one as soon as he steps on court this Saturday at the Rome Masters 1000, deserves that spot because “he’s been playing awesome tennis”.

“He’s going to be number one after this tournament no matter what,” Djokovic declared.

“He deserves it. He’s been playing awesome tennis, at a great level.

“He’s the player to beat on this surface, no doubt.

“Of course, it depends on whether or not Nadal plays at Roland Garros, but Alcaraz is one of the main favorites without any doubt. He is playing fantastic tennis.”

On Alcaraz‘s Rome debut, he could only meet Djokovic in a hypothetical final.

“We only met once last year in Madrid. If we have the chance to meet here, it would be in the final and I think we would both love it,” said the Serb.

Nole also spoke of Rafael Nadal, who will not be in Rome due to injury and whose presence at Roland Garros is still an unknown quantity, although it will not change his preparation.

“It won’t change anything in relation to my preparation if he is there or not,” he added.

“But, of course, the world of tennis and the Roland Garros tournament would be affected by his absence because of his history at the tournament and what he has achieved in his career and the impact he has had on the sport.”

He acknowledged that he would like to see him play on French clay.

“For the competition it’s better if you can have the best players in the world to make the challenge as big as possible.”

He also spoke about his physical condition and the elbow discomfort that prevented him from playing in Madrid.

“It’s all good. I mean, there are always a few things here and there that bother you at this level.” he concluded.

Novak Djokovic acknowledged on Thursday that Carlos Alcaraz, who will be world number one as soon as he steps on court this Saturday at the Rome Masters 1000, deserves that spot because “he’s been playing awesome tennis”.

“He’s going to be number one after this tournament no matter what,” Djokovic declared.

“He deserves it. He’s been playing awesome tennis, at a great level.

“He’s the player to beat on this surface, no doubt.

“Of course, it depends on whether or not Nadal plays at Roland Garros, but Alcaraz is one of the main favorites without any doubt. He is playing fantastic tennis.”

On Alcaraz‘s Rome debut, he could only meet Djokovic in a hypothetical final.

“We only met once last year in Madrid. If we have the chance to meet here, it would be in the final and I think we would both love it,” said the Serb.

Nole also spoke of Rafael Nadal, who will not be in Rome due to injury and whose presence at Roland Garros is still an unknown quantity, although it will not change his preparation.

“It won’t change anything in relation to my preparation if he is there or not,” he added.

“But, of course, the world of tennis and the Roland Garros tournament would be affected by his absence because of his history at the tournament and what he has achieved in his career and the impact he has had on the sport.”

He acknowledged that he would like to see him play on French clay.

“For the competition it’s better if you can have the best players in the world to make the challenge as big as possible.”

He also spoke about his physical condition and the elbow discomfort that prevented him from playing in Madrid.

“It’s all good. I mean, there are always a few things here and there that bother you at this level.” he concluded.

“But I feel good. I miss the competition and I love playing in Rome. Historically it’s been a very nice tournament for me, I’ve had a lot of success, I’ve won it many times. I hope it can serve, again, as a great springboard for what’s coming in Paris, where I want to play my best tennis.”