Djoko had played Monte Carlo, belgrade before Madrid. that's 8 matches before the Alcaraz match. quit with the excuses.
Also Nadal lost in USO 22 to Tiafoe. Alcaraz would've beaten him thoroughly had they faced off there.
The huge roar towards the crowd by Djokovic after squeaking out that first set tiebreaker against Carlos in Madrid showed just how much was on the line for Djokovic that day. Djokovic wanted to beat the kid really bad because of all the hype the kid was getting.
1. No.
2. No with a dash of "Alcaraz injured his ankle the previous day and actually missed Rome subsequently".
3. No with a sprinkling of "Djokovic with a torn hammy can win slams".