Carlos Alcaraz will have a lot of pressure due to Rafael Nadal's absence at French Open, believes Alex Corretja

Former World No. 2 Alex Corretja recently weighed in on Carlos Alcaraz's chances at the 2033 French Open in the absence of Rafael Nadal.

Nadal recently made a heartbreaking announcement by revealing that he will stop playing for a certain period and that 2024 will possibly be his final year on the professional tennis tour.

He also confirmed that he will miss the upcoming French Open due to his ongoing injury, marking the first time the Spaniard has missed the tournament since 2004, having won it a record 14 times.

In a recent interview with Eurosport, Alex Corretja stated that Carlos Alcaraz will undoubtedly bear the pressure of being Spain's hope in the absence of the 22-time Grand Slam champion. At the same time, he believed that the 20-year-old is fully prepared to handle the situation.

"He knows already that a lot of attention is going to be on his shoulders because, especially for the Spanish press, there is no Rafa there. But I think he is totally ready. He has been dealing with the situation extremely well. And I think he is absolutely ready to do well at Roland-Garros," Corretja said.

Corretja shortly added that Carlos Alcaraz will play differently than he did at Roland-Garros last year, in that he will be more relaxed from the start and ready to win and suffer.

"He had the experience from last year at Roland-Garros, where it was pretty much the first time that he was in the big spot to see if he can do well. And he's going to deal with the situation in a totally different way," he said.

"He is going to be more relaxed from the very first round. Even if he needs to win and to suffer, he will be ready for that," he added.

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"For me, it was the best thing it could happen to him" - Alex Corretja on Carlos Alcaraz's early Italian Open exit

Carlos Alcaraz pictured at the Internazionali BNL D'Italia 2023 - Day Eight.

Carlos Alcaraz suffered an early and shocking exit at the Italian Open last week. The Spaniard was defeated 3-6, 6-7 (4) by qualifier Fabian Marozsan in the third round -- his third defeat of the season.

While defeats are never good in general, two-time French Open finalist Alex Corretja believes that it was necessary as Alcaraz will now be more focused on his game and aware of the threat other players pose, which will be very beneficial for him at the clay court Major.

"For me it was the best thing it could happen to him. Now, he had time off, he rested and he is going to be much fresher for Roland-Garros. So I think it's a good notice for him to understand that he needs to continue doing his things, but knowing that everybody plays well," Corretja said.

"I think he already knew that, but this loss puts him in the spot of ‘OK, I cannot let myself relax because everybody plays unbelievable tennis'," he added.