Carlos Alcaraz injury rumours swirl as he gets big Madrid Open boost
Carlos Alcaraz was all smiles as he made an appearance at the Laureus awards in Madrid on Monday, as he faces a race against time to be fit for the Madrid Masters.
Alcaraz shared the red carpet at the prestigious awards event with fellow Spanish tennis great Rafael Nadal, as the duo that played alongside each other in last years Olympic Games were reunited.
The event took place a little over 24 hours after Alcaraz lost the Barcelona Open final against Holger Rune, with the story emerging from that match focused on his fitness concerns.
Alcaraz was struggling with an adductor muscle problem in the second set and there were reports in Spain suggesting he would have a scan to assess whether he needed to take a break from the game to allow his body to recover.
Adductor muscles are a group of muscles on the inner thigh that pull the leg toward the midline of the body, a movement called adduction. These muscles are crucial for stability, walking, and other movements.
There are some suggestions that Alcaraz’s injury will need two weeks to heal, which would rule him out of the Madrid Open, as he waits to assess medical reports before deciding on his next move.
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“At the start of the second set, everything was very intense, and I felt the adductor muscle in my right leg was very tight,” said Alcaraz.
“We’ll have two days off, which I would have had anyway if I hadn’t hurt myself. I’ll talk with my team, we’ll do some tests, but I’m confident it won’t affect me in Madrid.
“I’ve struggled to keep going and maintain a good level. From what I’m feeling right now, I’ll be off for two days. I’m confident it won’t hurt me ahead of Madrid.
“It’s been two weeks of nonstop play, and it’s been a real challenge. Today wasn’t possible, but I gave everything I had. I don’t know if I could have pushed myself any harder.”
Alcaraz has been given a boost after it emerged he will not played his opening match at the Madrid Open until Saturday, after it was confirmed his second of the ATP draw will not start until the weekend.
That gives the 21-year-old some time to weigh up his next move as he considers whether to play in front of his Spanish fans in Madrid or rest his body ahead of a potential return to action at the Rome Open at the start of next month.
Alcaraz will feel some pressure to play in his ‘home’ Masters series event, but he will need to weigh up whether the risk of further aggravating the injury is worth taking as the defence of his French Open and Wimbledon titles will soon loom large on his horizon.
With the draw for the Madrid Masters already made, Alcaraz is under no time pressure to make a decision on whether he will play and the fact that his half of the draw will play on Saturday and the top half will play on Friday will give him extra time to make the call.
No 4 seed Novak Djokovic is projected to face No 2 Carlos Alcaraz in the semi-finals after they were drawn in the same section.
The duo famously met at the Madrid Open in 2022, where Alcaraz prevailed in a three-set thriller on his way to the first of two back-to-back titles on home turf.
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