My gut tells me Carlos Alcaraz will win French Open 2023, says Casey Dellacqua

Former Australian tennis player Casey Dellacqua feels that World No.1 Carlos Alcaraz will carry home the French Open 2023 trophy.

Dellacqua feels strongly about Alcaraz winning the Grand Slam at Roland Garros despite Daniil Medvedev having a strong run at this year's claycourt season.

Medvedev reached the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters at Monte Carlo and won the Italian Open, defeating Holger Rune 6-3, 6-4.

Carlos Alcaraz, meanwhile, has won four titles this year, three of them coming on clay. His victories on clay came in Buenos Aires, Barcelona, and finally at the ATP Masters 1000 in Madrid.

Alcaraz regained his No. 1 ranking at last week's Italian Open. He will now begin the upcoming Grand Slam event as the top-speed player for the first time in his career. His opening round will be against either a qualifier or a lucky loser.

“To answer the first part, I am still sticking with Alcaraz," Dellacqua said while talking on The AO Show podcast. "My gut just tells me Alcaraz will win Roland Garros. I went for a walk this morning and was thinking through some thoughts around Roland Garros, and obviously, qualifying is happening. But my gut’s telling me Alcaraz is going to win, so I’m sticking with that."

Casey Dellacqua further stated that while Daniil Medvedev tends to discount his chances on clay and feels playing on clay is a chink in his armor, his win at Rome proves otherwise.

“Medvedev, yes, an interesting one, isn’t it?" Dellacqua said. "Because I feel like Pete said he’s kind of built this narrative around the fact that he can’t play on clay. Which I don’t think is necessarily the case. So he’s just won his 20th title over in Rome and played some great tennis.”

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Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic headed for a possible semi-final clash at French Open

Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023 - Day Eight

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic find themselves in the same half of the 2023 French Open. As a result, a potential semi-final between the two tournament favorites is very much on the cards.

Should 20-year-old Alcaraz and 36-year-old Djokovic find themselves on opposing sides of the net in the semi-final, it would be their first meeting in over a year. The last time they met, Alcaraz triumphed over Djokovic in the Madrid Open.

Before Carlos Alcaraz can consider clashing with Djokovic in the sem-final, he has to beat other big names in his part of the draw. There is a possibility of facing 2021 Roland Garros runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas in the quarter-finals.

Djokovic finds himself as the third seed as a result of Daniil Medvedev's unexpected first career ATP clay court title in Rome.

Medvedev, meanwhile, starts his campaign against a qualifier. Daniil Medvedev can expect resistance on his path to the final in the form of Casper Ruud and Jannik Sinner, the fourth and eighth seeds, respectively, who lead the lower half of that section.