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.

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