Alcaraz's rise the talk of tour ahead of Paris

Teenage sensation opts to rest before French Open but his Madrid Open victory has made his opponents sit up

- Tumaini Carayol

 A napt indication of just how much discussion the rise of Carlos Alcaraz has generated came yesterday in Rafael Nadal's pre-tournament press conference at the Italian Open. Wary of how often Nadal has already had to discuss his young compatriot in recent months, a journalist introduced their question by expressing their hope that Nadal would not be annoyed by yet more Alcaraz talk to come. "I will never be annoyed about answering questions about colleague of mine," Nadal responded.

Alcaraz will not be seen in Rome this year. Shortly after his breathless triumph against Alexander Zverev in the final of the Madrid Open on Sunday, he announced he would be withdrawing from the tournament in order to recuperate before the French Open begins. Still, his rise has been the defining story of the past two months and his success will continue to loom over the tour until the French Open begins.

“He definitely is special," said Novak Djokovic, who lost against Alcaraz in the semi-final in Madrid. "I mean, already he's breaking a lot of records as a teenager, winning two Masters events this year, a couple of 500s. So far he's the best player in the world this year with the results that he's been doing."