Carlos Alcaraz: Leading voice makes ‘never a good sign’ claim after French Open withdrawal
Carlos Alcaraz’s decision to pull out of the French Open sent shock waves through tennis, but it was also a sign that the Spaniard was thinking about his long-term career rather than his short-term ambitions.
That’s the verdict of Patrick Mouratoglou, who suggests the reigning Roland Garros champion would have been unwise to try and rush his return to action after he picked up a wrist problem playing at the Barcelona Open earlier this month.
To a Spanish player, the clay court Grand Slam always means so much as they have grown up playing on the surface, but Mouratoglou suggests the decision to take time away from the sport was wise.
“How do you choose between a Grand Slam and your career?” questioned Mouratoglou in a post on LinkedIn.
“Let’s be clear, for a player like Carlos, this is not just any tournament. He is the defending champion. He has won it twice in a row. He is in the race for world No 1. So deciding not to play would be extremely difficult.
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But I really like his approach. He said something very important: “A career is long. I’m not going to jeopardise it for the short term.” This is a very mature decision. Because too many players think short term: play injured, take risks and sometimes pay the price later.”
Alcaraz’s move to pull out of the French Open a month before the tournament suggests the injury is pretty serious, but Mouratoglou offers hope for his fans around the world, after he appeared at the Laureus Awards in Madrid with a protective cast on his wrist.
“How serious is the injury? Honestly… nobody really knows, but one thing caught my attention: The cast,” he added.
“When you see a player with a cast, it usually means one thing: the area needs to be completely immobilised, and that is never a good sign. When a joint is immobilised, the muscles stop working, they start to weaken and it takes time to rebuild.
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“So even if the injury heals, coming back to compete at the highest level is not immediate.
“Of course, we don’t have all the information. Maybe it’s a precaution. Maybe it’s less serious than it looks. But in general, when a cast is involved, it’s not a minor issue.
“And that’s why his decision is so important, because this is where great careers are built. Not only by winning, but by making the right decisions at the right time. So yes, Roland-Garros is huge, but a career is bigger.”
Alcaraz will be hoping he can return to action on grass courts in England in June and he is the defending champion at the ATP 500 tournament at The Queen’s Club in mid-June.
