Home hero Carlos Alcaraz pulled out of the Madrid Open on Thursday, citing lingering muscle accidents and a need to keep away from jeopardizing his French Open marketing campaign.
The world No. 3 attributed the setbacks to tennis’ “really tight” schedule, calling it a part of the game’s “demanding” nature.
Alcaraz, who battled a nagging higher leg problem in final Sunday’s Barcelona Open last, revealed he’s additionally coping with a left leg harm. He was scheduled to make his Caja Mágica debut on Saturday.
Alcaraz is a two-time champion in Madrid, having gained in 2022 and 2023. He was the No. 2 seed this week and in the identical half of the draw as Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz mentioned he did “everything possible to play” however needed to make the “tough decision” to withdraw after listening to his physique and talking with docs.
“Madrid is one of the special tournaments for me. It’s a tournament that I enjoy – I get to play in front of my fans. It’s one of the first tournaments I attended when I was a kid,” Alcaraz mentioned. “These types of decisions are not easy to make, but sometimes you have to think about your health and about what is important. A Grand Slam is a Grand Slam. If I play here, I could make the injuries worse and have to stop for several months, and that’s not worth it.”
He mentioned he felt “secure” about recovering in time to play subsequent month at Roland Garros, the place he’s the defending champion. He gained final yr’s last in opposition to Alexander Zverev, who leapfrogged the Spaniard to No. 2 on the planet after profitable in Munich final week.
“I’m not really worried about it,” Alcaraz mentioned. “I believe it’s going to take one week, one and a half weeks, two weeks maximum. But I won’t have doubts about coming back and moving 100 percent again.”
He mentioned he plans to play in Rome forward of the French Open, which begins May 25.
“My mindset is to do everything it takes to be 100 percent for Rome. I will do some tests at the beginning of next week just to see how it’s improved, and from that, let’s see how it’s going to be in the next days,” he mentioned. “My hope is to play in Rome. If not, the next tournament is Roland Garros for me. So I will try to be on court as soon as possible.”
Alcaraz wanted therapy on his leg throughout his straight-sets loss to Holger Rune within the Barcelona last.
He had not but practiced in Madrid and mentioned earlier this week that he felt “fine” however was ready on medical check outcomes to find out whether or not he would play.
Alcaraz, who turns 22 on May 5, opened his clay-court marketing campaign with a title in Monte Carlo and was on a nine-match profitable streak till the Barcelona last. He mentioned he later additionally felt ache in a muscle in his left leg.
Alcaraz vowed to “come back stronger” however criticized the demanding tennis schedule.
“Tennis is really a demanding sport,” he mentioned. “Playing week after week, so many matches in a row – you have to heal your body sometimes and make difficult decisions.”
The four-time Grand Slam champion has a 24-5 file this yr. In addition to Monte Carlo, he additionally gained in Rotterdam on arduous courtroom in February.
“The schedule is really tight, really difficult tournaments week after week. Sometimes you have to think about yourself and make the right decisions for your health,” he mentioned.
Source: www.dailysabah.com