Carlos Alcaraz has received some great news just weeks before Roland Garros, as he might have an easier path at the French tournament.
Carlos Alcaraz faced a tough defeat in the round of 16 at the Mutua Madrid Open against Andrey Rublev, marking the end of a challenging few weeks marred by a forearm injury he sustained after the Miami Open.
This injury led him to miss the Monte Carlo Masters 1000 and then the Conde de Godó, where he was defending his title.
He arrived in Madrid uncertain if he would be able to play until almost the day of his debut against Alexander Shevchenko. Despite never hiding that he was not in peak condition, Alcaraz raised hopes with his level of play.
Until the round of 16, Carlos Alcaraz performed well, though he struggled against Struff. However, in the quarterfinals, his game was different.
While he started promisingly, he gradually faded as the games progressed, possibly due to inactivity and the strain from the previous day, which ultimately resulted in his defeat in three sets.
This cost him 800 points as he failed to defend his title, and also jeopardized his third place in the ATP rankings.
Had Daniil Medvedev won his match against Jiri Lehecka, he would have surpassed Alcaraz. However, the Russian suffered an injury and had to withdraw, and it seems to be significant since there is a chance he may not play in Rome.
If Daniil Medvedev does not compete at the Foro Italico, Carlos Alcaraz will automatically secure a top-three spot at Roland Garros, which always provides an advantage being in the top tier of the rankings.
However, even if Medvedev competes, defending his championship title with these issues makes it hard to envision him winning six matches against the world’s best.
After withdrawing, Daniil confirmed that he does not know what is wrong with his hip, whether “it’s serious or not,” and plans to undergo tests to find out. However, with Roland Garros as his clear goal, he is unsure if he will compete in Rome before Paris, despite regretting not being able to defend his title from last year.
“Right now, going to Rome is risky, but I need to evaluate how everything progresses, talk to my team because it would be important to compete after my victory last year. I need more information because we still don’t know,” he said.
It is truly unfortunate about the tennis player’s injury, as we were seeing him more comfortable on clay than he had been in previous years.
