Novak Djokovic said on 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.