Gauthier Delomez / Photo credits: AFP 06:00, May 28, 2023

Let's go for the 2023 edition of Roland-Garros! This Sunday opens the main draw of the International of France, which once again welcomes the greatest players on the planet during the fortnight. Europe 1, official radio of the tournament, calls on its consultant Cédric Pioline to discuss the main favorites.

It's a question bookmakers would love to know the answer to: who will win the 2023 edition of Roland-Garros, for both men and women? As every year, some protagonists leave with a head start on the competition, whether by their form of the moment or their latest results on the clay courts of the Porte d'Auteuil. Cédric Pioline, former world fifth and consultant of Europe 1, official radio of Roland-Garros, decrypts the main favorites of the fortnight.

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Alcaraz-Djokovic, a final before the hour

The two-time Davis Cup winner (1996, 2001) does not go out of his way to designate the two contenders for the title on the men's side: the Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz, 20 years old and world number one, and the Serbian Novak Djokovic, in search of a 23rd Grand Slam trophy. The draw made Thursday can also lead them to face each other in the semifinals, in a match that will look like a final after the forfeit of the legend Rafael Nadal.

For Europe 1 consultant Carlos Alcaraz, the Spanish phenomenon who won his first Major last year at the US Open, has "a lot of qualities. First of all, he has a pretty incredible explosiveness, he is able to move the ball at a fairly impressive speed, and above all a maturity for his young age. We see that he has passed the stages in an incredible way, "notes Cédric Pioline, recalling that after an injury at the beginning of the year, Carlos Alcaraz has lost very few matches this season. "He has this ability to withstand pressure, he is really there to build a record and he has all the weapons to play well at Roland-Garros," said the current director of the Masters of Paris-Bercy.

Novak Djokovic somewhat in the dark before Roland-Garros

If Cédric Pioline slips Novak Djokovic in his two main favorites, he still highlights the vagueness around the former world number one. "All season on clay, he performed moderately since he did not go beyond the quarterfinals in all the tournaments in which he participated," says the consultant. But at 36, Djokovic remains one of the sport's greatest legends, and he can bounce back in Majors. "He is a player who has phenomenal experience of the Grand Slam format over 15 days, with all five sets. With his status as the number 3 seed, he will be able to get into the tournament and grow quietly. He knows how to manage this time, this length, "deciphers the former French player.

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Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic therefore wear the costume of favorites according to Cédric Pioline, who believes that behind these two players, there is "a second wagon" composed in particular of the Russian Daniil Medvedev thanks to his victory at the Masters of Rome Sunday, May 21, or the Danish Holger Rune, winner of the Masters 1000 of Paris-Bercy a few months ago against a certain Novak Djokovic, and with two clay court finals in Monte-Carlo and Rome this season. "There are other players that we will have to watch, whether it is Casper Ruud, finalist last year," or "Stefanos Tsitsipas, already finalist two years ago," lists the consultant of Europe 1.

On the women's side, Iga Swiatek and others

In the women's draw, the hierarchy is much clearer for Cédric Pioline: Poland's Iga Switaek, world number one, winner in 2020 and defending champion, is the big favorite of the 2023 edition, "even if she abandoned in Rome on a muscle discomfort. I think it was the principle of caution," said the former world fifth. "She arrives with this number one favourite status, and even though other players have played almost better than her since the start of the season, clay is still the Pole's natural surface. As a result, it is at the top of the list."

Among these players who performed on ochre, Cédric Pioline refers in particular to the Kazakh Elena Rybakina, titled in Rome, whom the world number one can find in the semifinals. The other part of the draw may be that of the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, who by her striking power, can repeat the same performance as in Madrid where she had beaten the Pole in the final.

Caroline Garcia, the best French hope

What if France's Caroline Garcia, in the same half of the table as the Belarusian, could also shine? Fifth in the world before the start of the tournament, the Lyonnaise "is on paper, our best French chance, the only French player, including the boys, to be seeded," notes the one who has played two career Grand Slam finals.

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However, the winner of the last Masters in the United States "has been going through a difficult period almost since the beginning of the year, compared to her level, her ranking and what she had produced at the end of last season. She underperforms in a way, and I hope she will manage to get her head back in the place and go as far as possible, at least in the second week, "says Cédric Pioline, who wants to be optimistic: "There is a final sprint, and with her experience and her level of play, she could go far and why not lift the trophy." An ambition she had already shared at the microphone of Europe 1 Sport.