Carlos Alcaraz’s Physical Setbacks: Causes, Concerns, and Analysis

It is not the first setback. And so, at 20 years old, he worries his environment who, in Paris, has taken him between cotton pads taking care of his body, reserving it without training the days before his matches. At the end of November 2022, he was left without playing his first Masters and the Davis Cup final due to an abdominal injury that forced him to retire in the quarterfinals of Paris-Bercy against the Danish Holger Rune.

A couple of months later, before traveling to the Australian Open, he stayed in Murcia for a hamstring injury in his right leg and could not compete again until the tournament in Buenos Aires, in February. He then played and lost the final in Rio de Janeiro, ostensibly limping against British tennis player Cameron Norrie.

Paris cramps are not new, and that’s why they worry. In the last semifinals in Miami, which he lost to Jannik Sinner, he also had cramps, but as against Djokovic he also ended the match. «You have to see what has happened, what we have been doing wrong and what we can improve. We are going very screwed, the whole team, with emotions on the surface, “said Carlos Alcaraz before leaving Roland Garros.

Juanjo López, the Murcian doctor who is directly in charge of the player’s injury, explained on Onda Cero the reasons that could have caused the physical problems: «The heat, electrolyte imbalance, tension, is a combo that makes these things happen. When there is a square like this full, the game of the year, a lot of tension, the experience is a degree. The psychological factor is important but also the physiological one.

The Murcian also spoke of the cramps: «Normally they recover within minutes. An electrolyte replenishment and you can recover. But this is tennis and while you recover you are losing games -he had to concede one to be able to be attended- and in front of you you have Djokovic, who does not forgive one. In tennis, a cramp is very bad, the advice we have given you is to let yourself go but the mountain was too big to overcome it ».

«Carlos was convinced that this match could be won. But you have to be in that moment and situation and in tennis not every day is the same and it is normal for there to be weaknesses. You are not a robot, you are a person and these little things make you improve,” he ended by saying.

The day after the elimination of the Murcian at Roland Garros, these physical problems gave rise to much talk and were the subject of analysis by several former players who are now television commentators. One of them is the Catalan Álex Corretja, now at Eurosport. «I think Carlitos wants to go too far in each shot, which is very demanding. He has to learn to play the best of five sets on clay », said the finalist in Paris in 1998 and 2001.« He will learn from this, I think for next year. He had the experience of last year, that he reached the quarterfinals and now even the semifinals. He came here with a lot of pressure because everyone was talking about him as a favorite before and during the tournament.. But when you play someone like Novak Djokovic, with so much experience and talent, you always have to be there, hang in there and wait and see what happens,” he stated.

The American John McEnroe, who throughout the tournament has expressed his admiration for the Murcian, explained that «Alcaraz’s racket made many mistakes in the first set, too many. He came out tense and was not able to execute his usual level because of Djokovic », to later praise the tennis player from El Palmar, of whom he added that « he has a great smile, plays with a lot of energy. It’s a great encouragement for us to have a guy like that at the top of our tennis. I wish I could copy it somehow. To Alcaraz, believe it! », He exclaimed.

The German Boris Becker brought into question the decision of Juan Carlos Ferrero’s team not to make Alcaraz train on rest days: «Carlos has not trained on his days off in the last ten. You can do it from time to time, but when that is the routine, there is a bit of a lack of physical shape, to indicate that the consequences of this situation is that “you lose control of the foot, the calf. You can no longer step correctly. Also, he probably had hand cramps too, he couldn’t hold the racket properly anymore. It was a full body cramp, so to speak.. At that point I thought I had to stop now,” she concluded.

Djokovic, for the title and number 1

The Phillippe Chatrier is ready for the big occasion. Djokovic will set foot on his red soil today (3:00 p.m., Eurosport, DAZN and DMAX), ready to leave his mark at Roland Garros and, above all, in the history of tennis. In his hand is conquering the 23rd Grand Slam of his career. He will surpass the record that he shares with Rafa Nadal, with 22, and do it on land dominated by the Balearic champion, absent due to a hip injury. If he achieves something that few doubt, he will also recover the number 1 in the world, snatching it from Carlos Alcaraz by 420 points.

“I’m very close to that moment. I know. I am very happy to be in a position to make more history in this sport but I am only thinking about getting another victory », she said.

‘Nole’ faces the last obstacle, before becoming the best player in the history of tennis, at least due to the cold numbers, although in other evaluations, both Roger Federer and Nadal continue to take advantage of him and it does not seem that he will ever surpass them .

Casper Ruud, the last one who can prevent Djokovic’s success, does not seem like the toughest opponent to achieve it. The former number 1 is the absolute favourite. Not even in Norway do they trust the miracle.