This week has been one of uncertainty over when Carlos Alcaraz will return to tour following a wrist injury. The big question had been whether he’d recover in time for the second Grand Slam of the year, Roland Garros, in which he is the defending champion. The first doubts came from countryman and Madrid Open director Feliciano Lopez, who asserted that he did not imagine a situation in which the World #2 would recover in time for the French Open.
Speaking earlier this week, Alcaraz had sparked even more doubt when he suggested that forcing himself to play at Roland Garros could damage his future. He further added that “we’ll see how things go in the test and then we’ll decide based on that”. Now it seems that decision has come as the Spaniard, who completed his career Grand Slam at the Australian Open, confirmed on Instagram that he will now, in fact, miss the second Slam of the year. Taking to Instagram, he wrote:
“After the results of the tests carried out today, we have decided that the most prudent thing to do is to be cautious and not participate in Rome or Roland Garros as we wait to evaluate the progress so we can decide when to return to the court. This is a difficult time for me, but I am sure we will come out of it stronger.”
His absence is certainly a huge blow to fans, tournament organizers, and everyone who follows the sport to some degree. His final at the tournament last year, against Jannik Sinner, was one of the best and most dramatic matches ever in the sport. Fans would have been hoping that a potential rematch was on the cards this year, as Sinner himself looks to complete his own career Grand Slam. Now such hopes have been shattered following the announcement.
The Italian had a below-par start to the year, but in the last couple of months has reestablished himself as the player to beat. He was already most people’s French Open favorite after an impressive run of Masters 1000 triumphs that culminated in a straight-sets defeat of Alcaraz in the Monte Carlo final. In light of this, he now becomes the overwhelming favourite in the French capital and looks well on course to emulate his great rival by completing his own career Grand Slam, with Alcaraz on the sidelines.
A further intriguing point of conversation is what this also means for Novak Djokovic in his pursuit of an elusive 25th Grand Slam title. The feeling for a while is that he’d probably have needed to beat both players in order to achieve the feat. So it proved in Melbourne at the Australian Open, where, despite producing one of his best performances to beat Sinner, he was unable to repeat the trick against Alcaraz in the final.
Now, with Alcaraz out of the way, it certainly raises an interesting proposition as he arguably remains the third-best player in the world. However, any hopes he has will also depend on how he is physically, as he continues to nurse a shoulder injury of his own with no definitive timeline given for a return.
For Carlos Alcaraz, the hope will now be that he returns fully recovered in time for Wimbledon, owing to the short interval between the two Slams. He and Sinner again contested the final, where he was the defending champion, but succumbed to the Italian that time around. It now also sets up a promising next few months for the Italian, who will now also be looking to close the Grand Slam gap on his rival. The Spaniard leads 7-4 in that category, but by the time the US Open comes around, it could be much closer.
Main Photo Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images
