Until now, circumstances have prevented the confrontation between the No. 1 in the world and the one who will deprive him of the throne in all probability after the Italian tournament on the simple condition of playing at least one game.
First came the muscular injury in the right leg that deprived alcaraz to be present at the Australian Open, in which Djokovic He won his 22nd Grand Slam title, equaling the record of Rafael Nadal, the latter sidelined for almost four months due to a hip injury.
Then the impossibility for the Serb, not vaccinated against covid-19, to participate in the Masters 1000 in Indian Wells and Miami. The young Spaniard, who opted for the February South American tour on clay to launch his season, prevailed in California and was stopped in the semifinals in Florida.
Finally came the loss of Alcaraz in Monte Carlo, the first Masters 1000 of the European season on brick dust, to enjoy a rest, the same thing that Djokovic did in Madrid, far from his best form since his return.
1-0 Alcaraz
‘Carlitos’ landed in the Italian capital, for the first time, launched by his Barcelona-Madrid double and by his 19 victories, and three titles, in 20 games on clay in 2023.
His regularity is remarkable: five finals played in six tournaments since his late season start less than three months ago.
The recent trajectory of ‘Nole’, current champion in Rome, presents more shadows: in Monte Carlo as in Banja Luka in April, he lost in his second game (against Musetti and Lajovic), far from showing his best face and once again worried about his right elbow that had already caused him problems years ago.
Djokovic will debut against the young Frenchman Luca Van Asche (85th) or against the Argentine Tomas Martin Etcheverry (61st). Later he could face a difficult round against Grigor Dimitrov (33rd), Cameron Norrie (13th), Holger Rune (7th) or Félix Auger-Aliassime (10th), and Jannik Sinner (8th) in semifinals.
Alcaraz, meanwhile, will start against his compatriot Albert Ramos Vinolas (72nd), or against the Italian Francesco Passaro (126th). His journey includes a possible round of 16 against Borna Coric (16th), a quarterfinal against Stefanos Tsitsipas (5th), and a semifinal against Andrey Rublev (6th), Alexander Zverev (22nd). ) or Daniil Medvedev (3rd).
If both reach the final, the 2022 US Open champion, who has become the youngest world number 1 in history, will present himself with the advantage of having won the only one-on-one with Djokovic, a year ago in Madrid, for 6-7 (5), 7-5, 7-6 (5) in the semifinals.
The entrance Djokovic and Alcaraz, two paths that meet at the Rome Masters was first published on newspaper TODAY.
