"Painted a villain since day 1" - Novak Djokovic fans take offense to Carlos Alcaraz being likened to Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal in favor of Serb

Carlos Alcaraz's incredible knack of being totally at ease on and off the court, which drew a comparison with Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal while excluding Novak Djokovic, has been intensely debated on social media.

British commentator David Law chose to point out that Alcaraz's ability to appear both affable and comfortable in any setting was also a feature of Federer and Nadal.

Paul McNamee, while commenting on Law's views - which were aired as part of the Tennis Podcast show, wanted to know why the tennis broadcaster found it "so hard" to mention Novak Djokovic alongside Federer and Nadal and take the trouble "to split" the three greats of the game.

"Gee David you still find it hard to attribute Novak as you do to Roger and Rafa… to go to the trouble to split the three greats in this context… really?"

Asserting that Novak Djokovic had been painted as a villain since "day 1," one fan lamented that the 22-time Grand Slam champion continues to be portrayed in poor light.

"Good on you Paul for calling him out. He's good for the likes of Rune? What? Role model for bad boys (another narative media are trying to pull)? Please. Nole has been painted a villain since day 1,and some people are still painting"

Despite Law's subsequent clarification that the Serb's achievments needed "zero defending" and that Nadal and Federer's names were taken for a reason, tennis fans remains unconvinced.

"Gee Paul, really?" one fan wrote. "Federer was Alcaraz’ favourite player I believe, Nadal an obvious comparison point, and both very comfortable in almost all situations. Djokovic‘s achievements require zero defending, but he’s done things differently. His defiance has been part of his success"

Here are some of the other tweets that came out in defence of Paul McNamee's observations.

Meanwhile, Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic are all set to be begin their French Open campaign on Monday.

---

World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic begin Roland Garros campaign on Monday

Carlos Alcaraz enters the French Open as the top seed

All eyes will be on Court Suzanne Lenglen as top seed and World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz begins his much-anticipated French Open campaign on Monday, May 29.

The Spaniard will face Flavio Cobolli of Italy who is currently ranked World No. 159 as per the ATP.

Despite a shock second-round exit at the Italian Open, Carlos Alcaraz remains one of the firm favourites to lift the title in Roland Garros after having clinched back-to-back titles in Barcelona and Madrid.

The 20-year-old, who was touted to be a favourite back in 2022, went down to Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals last year.

In the absence of fellow-countryman and idol Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz is expected to go the distance at the French Open given his recent form on the red dirt.

Apart from the 14-time champion's withdrawal, Novak Djokovic's recent slump in form has also strengthened the 2022 US Open winner's case ahead of the tournament.

Novak Djokovic will be in action at Court Philippe Chatrier taking on Aleksander Kovacevic on Monday while World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev will face Thiago Seyboth Wild a day later.