Carlos Alcaraz Roland Garros withdrawal decision defended in latest Big Three comparison
Carlos Alcaraz’s decision to miss the French Open has been defended by Sam Querrey who pointed out that Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal also missed tournaments.
Fans were left disappointed when Alcaraz confirmed that a wrist injury which had initially seen him pull out of the Barcelona Open was going to keep him out for the rest of the clay swing.
Alcaraz’s absence has led many to believe the tournament will be easily won by Jannik Sinner but former World No 11 Querrey has suggested that Alcaraz is not the first top player to pull out.
“It sucks,” he said on his Nothing Major podcast.
“It must be decently bad to know that it is going to be a month before it’s better.
“I think we forget that Rafa, Federer, Novak – they would miss a Slam here and there, right?
“We were so spoiled with three of them that if one missed it, you would still have two of them.
“But because it’s Sinner and Alcaraz and there is only two of them, when one of them misses like this, it feels like it’s double the blow as when one of the big three was out.”
Alcaraz has opted to make the early decision in order to avoid causing further damage to his career but Querrey suggested fans should find other players to root for.
“It’s just a bummer. Alcaraz is everyone’s favourite player basically. To not have him not only in Madrid and Rome, but now Roland Garros is a huge bummer,” he said.
“But he’s 22, let’s hope he is going to be back for Wimbledon, and in the meantime, we have got to find some other players to obsess over!”
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Querrey was joined by John Isner who suggested Alcaraz’s withdrawal opened the door for others on the tour to go deep.
“The door is ajar in my mind for the rest of the field,” he said.
“Yes, you have got to like Sinner to make the Roland Garros final. He is a huge favourite now to win the event.
“But anything can happen.
“Sinner could eat a bad pork taco at Roland Garros!
“There are a lot of guys who have a slight bit of hope to make a deep run at Roland Garros.
“That does stink. We just have to hope by the time Roland Garros is going, his wrist starts to feel a bit better, and he can hit a few balls, as we need him at Wimbledon.”
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