Carlos Alcaraz told he may have a ‘problem’ after injury blow as mistake highlighted by ex-world No 4
Former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has argued that Carlos Alcaraz could learn from Jannik Sinner’s approach to scheduling after the Spaniard’s injury setback.
Alcaraz was forced to pull out before his second round match at the Barcelona Open this week due a right wrist injury he sustained in his opening round win over Otto Virtanen.
The world No 2’s victory against Virtanen at the ATP 500 tournament was his sixth match in eight days after he reached the final at the Monte Carlo Masters last week.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion revealed that the injury was “more serious” than he initially expected, and he has since withdrawn from the upcoming Madrid Open.
Alcaraz also missed the Masters 1000 event in Madrid last year after he suffered an injury in the Barcelona Open final, having won the Monte Carlo Masters.
Speaking on his Off Court With Greg Rusedski podcast, Rusedski claimed Alcaraz made a mistake with his clay-court scheduling and also urged the 22-year-old to play fewer exhibitions.
“He gets a lot of appearance money, and I think it’s about scheduling and getting rid of the exhibitions, because he’s got enough money,” said the former British No 1.
ATP Tour News
Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner’s 3 biggest future rivals revealed by Boris Becker
Jannik Sinner backed to ‘win more Grand Slams’ than Carlos Alcaraz by former top 20 player
Want more from Tennis365? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list for tennis coverage you can trust.
“I think he signed something like a $200 million contract with Nike. So it’s not about getting that appearance money, but scheduling properly.
“Being Spanish, you want to play Barcelona, you want to play Madrid, so you maybe miss the Monte Carlo Masters series after the hard courts to have a little bit of a longer spell [of rest].
“Play Barcelona, Madrid, Rome, week off, then get ready for the French [Open]. And knowing Carlos and his attitude, when he signs up, he’s committed to play.”
Rusedski went on to suggest that Alcaraz might be missing the experience of his former coach Juan Carlos Ferrero, who he parted ways with in December.
“This is the balancing where you have a coach like Juan Carlos Ferrero, who’s an ex-player, who’s gotten to No 1, who has won in Paris, who understands what it’s like, the rigours, the demands being Spanish, the demands being a world No 1,” said Rusedski.
“And we’re going to know more about how serious this wrist [injury] is, if he misses Madrid and then doesn’t play Rome, we know we’ve got a problem here, because he won’t have the prep he needs going into Paris to defend the title [at the French Open].”
Rusedski added: “Look, everyone says that [Samuel] Lopez is doing a great job, which he is, but that extra little voice in your ear from Juan Carlos Ferrero might have made the difference here. But we will see.”
The former world No 4 also praised the way Sinner manages his schedule.
“Sinner, on the other hand, boy, is his preparation perfect,” Rusedski declared.
“There are no mistakes in playing; he doesn’t overplay in exhibitions.
“Yes, he plays the big one in Saudi [Arabia], the Six Kings Slam. And he played the exhibition in Korea, leading up to the Australian Open. But I just think he is getting that balance a little bit better than Carlos.
“And if you’re not getting the rest, the recovery you need, those injuries occur. So a little bit of a question mark, I’m hoping it’s nothing serious, but we won’t know until we find out how many weeks he pulls out and where he starts up next.”
READ NEXT: Madrid Open withdrawal list: Emma Raducanu joins Carlos Alcaraz, Novak Djokovic as 17 players out
