Carlos Alcaraz reveals injury concern and the result of his practice with Novak Djokovic
World No 2 Carlos Alcaraz looked to be in good shape during his practice session with Novak Djokovic on Sunday, yet the Spaniard has revealed he is heading into the final ATP 1000 event of the year with a big injury concern.
Alcaraz pulled out of last week’s tournament in Basel with a foot injury, yet it seemed the problem was a minor concern rather than something that would derail his hopes of excelling in Paris and at the ATP Finals in Turin.
Yet when asked whether he has any injury worries heading into his opening match in Paris, Alcaraz admitted he was troubled by a physical problem that could affect his hopes.
“I’m not gonna say that I’m 100% because it could be a lie,” said Alcaraz.
“You know, at this time of the year, you know, after a long year, I think almost every player has a little bit of problems in their bodies, you know.
“I’m feeling in that way. I’m feeling a little bit of pain, you know, but I had a really good recovery these weeks. I’m coming here feeling well enough, you know, to do a good result here.
“There are a lot of great players that are playing at a high level, you know, so I think that the draw is really, really open, and a lot of players can win this tournament.”
Alcaraz’s practice session with Djokovic created a big stir in tennis, as it is not often that we will see the top two players in the world warm-up together ahead of a big event.
Yet the players who won all four of the Grand Slams up for grabs in 2023 clearly have a lot of respect for each other and Alcaraz revealed how the practice session was arranged.
“I think it was the best way, you know, to get ready for this tournament, you know, practice with the best one,” he added.
“We spoke before coming here to Paris and we, yeah, we talk about if we can practice one day. It happen yesterday. He won… hopefully just for practice (smiling).
“I’m really excited to play this tournament. You know, I just said I have not great memories here, but I am trying to forget everything that happen the years before.
“You know, in 2021 I had not a good run. Last year, I think I surpass that. Hopefully this year is gonna be better.
Something that I’m not thinking about what happened last year and 2021. I’m just focusing on this one. You know, just thinking about my feelings on the court, that it’s going really, really well. So excited to start the tournament.”
Alcaraz’s hopes of knocking Djokovic off the top of the ATP rankings before the end of 2023 appear to be forlorn after his poor run of form in recent weeks.
The Spaniard was well beaten by Daniil Medvedev in the US Open semi-finals and then lost to Jannik Sinner and Grigor Dimitrov in events in China.
That was before he withdrew from the Basel tournament and now it seems he is heading to Paris with big question marks over how his body will hold up for the final two events 2023.
