Carlos Alcaraz is the player to beat at Roland Garros this year, according to an Australian tennis great with a special relationship to the tournament.

Paul McNamee believes Alcaraz is currently the game’s best player on clay and stands to build an extraordinary record in Paris due to his command over all the strokes and nuances required to succeed on red dirt.

McNamee is well placed to comment, given his own success on the surface and his studious approach to it.

LISTEN: Paul McNamee on The Sit-Down

In 1980, McNamee stunned world No.2 John McEnroe to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros. In 2021 he authored Welcome to the Dance, a book described as his “ode to clay-court tennis” in which he discusses its complexities, its appeal, and how mastering tennis on clay means mastering the game as a whole.

Speaking on this week’s episode of The Sit-Down, McNamee likened clay to chess, an “angular” game differing to the more “linear” game played on hard courts.