Novak Djokovic said Thursday that Carlos Alcaraz is the man to beat at the Italian Open, but reassured fans that he "feels good" after his recent elbow injury.
Top seed Djokovic comes into the clay-court tournament, where he has been champion six times, braced to lose top spot in the world rankings to Alcaraz.
The flamboyant Spaniard, fresh from back-to-back clay titles in Barcelona and Madrid, just needs to play a match in the Italian capital to return to the summit ahead of the French Open which starts later this month.
"He's going to be number one after this tournament and if it happens it will be deservedly so. He plays very impressive tennis, a great level. He's the player to beat on this surface no doubt," said Djokovic, who starts his title defence against Argentina's Tomas Etcheverry on Friday.
Djokovic won a record-equalling 22nd Grand Slam at the Australian Open in January but missed the American hard-court swing in March due to his refusal to be vaccinated against Covid.
The 35-year-old has endured a tough start to the European clay-court season, being eliminated in the last 16 at the Monte Carlo Masters, in the quarter-finals at Banja Luka and then pulling out of Madrid with his elbow problem.
However Djokovic said that he had overcome the physical problems which have blighted this part of his season.
"It's all good, it's all good. There are always some things here and there that bother you at this level," he added.
"It's normal. When you're not 20-25 anymore you experience that a bit more than what used to be the case.
"I feel good... Historically throughout my career Rome has been a very nice tournament for me, I had success in it many times, got to finals.
"It's my most successful clay court event. Coming into the French Open it can be a great springboard for what's coming up in Paris where I want to be at my best."
- 'Tricky player' -
On the court on Thursday, Taylor Townsend, ranked a lowly 168 in the world, stunned third-ranked Jessica Pegula 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to make the third round of the WTA event.
Townsend's only previous top-10 victory came during a fourth-round run at the 2019 US Open, where she beat Simona Halep, then ranked fourth in the world. She next faces China's Wang Xiyu.
World number five Coco Gauff eased into the third round with a 6-0, 6-1 defeat of Yulia Putintseva in just under an hour.
"She's obviously a tricky player, has some big wins. Made the quarters of the French Open a couple times. I know clay is her surface. It's also kind of mine, too, so it was a good match today," said Gauff, the 2022 French Open runner-up.
Former world number one Victoria Azarenka ended Sloane Stephens' six-match winning streak 6-4, 6-3.
After their wins, neither Azarenka nor Coco Gauff spoke about the sexism row which marred their appearance in the women's doubles final at the Madrid Open last weekend.
Azarenka and her partner, Beatriz Haddad Maia, and Gauff, who played with Pegula, were not allowed to address the crowd after the Madrid final unlike their male counterparts.
On Thursday, however, Madrid tournament organisers apologised about the decision, saying "that players and fans... expect more of the Mutua Madrid Open tournament".
Meanwhile, Jannik Sinner says he feels the weight of expectation from his Italian home crowd as the world number eight starts his campaign on Friday against Australia's Thanasi Kokkinakis.
Rome hasn't seen an Italian winner of the tournament since Adriano Panatta in 1976.
With local boy Matteo Berrettini out of action again with abdominal problems, Sinner will be getting the bulk of the capital city's support.
"There's pressure, but it's positive because they're people who care about me and push me in the difficult moments," Sinner told reporters.
"Having the public on your side is a card you can use, but you have to be smart to know how to use it. When I come here to play on centre or the Pietrangeli courts it's completely unique."
Sinner has had a decent season far, winning in Montpellier in February and reaching at least the quarter-finals in seven of his eight tournaments so far.
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