Jannik Sinner gives Carlos Alcaraz injury ‘hope’ with Roland Garros under threat
Jannik Sinner said he has ‘hope’ to see Carlos Alcaraz back on court for Roland Garros as the Spaniard recovers from a wrist injury.
Alcaraz had revealed his plans to compete in the full clay swing but that soon became impossible as he withdrew from Barcelona with a wrist injury.
The 22-year-old was then spotted with a splint around his right wrist and the injury has put into doubt whether he will be able to defend his Roland Garros title next month.
One of the main beneficiaries to a potential Alcaraz absence is Sinner but the World No 1 has insisted he would rather see his long-time rival back on the court.
“He is going through a difficult moment,” Sinner told Sky Sports Italia at the Laureus World Sports Awards. “We hope to see him again soon on the courts, maybe already in Rome.
“As a competitor, I hope he can also be there at Roland Garros, because when you want to win, you want to do it by beating the best, and he is among them.”
The French Open is the final remaining piece of Sinner’s Career Grand Slam hopes having lost an epic final to Alcaraz last year.
The Italian is preparing for the tournament by featuring in the Madrid Open, a tournament he has only ever reached the quarter final in, and will begin by facing a qualifier on Friday as he looks to win his fifth consecutive ATP Masters 1000 title.
Alcaraz, who also attended the awards in Madrid and was crowned Sportsman of the Year, said he was waiting for the results of tests before deciding on a potential return date.
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“The next test will be crucial,” Alcaraz told the Spanish television channel TVE.
“We’ve been trying to do everything we can do to make sure that this test goes well. I’m trying to be very patient. But we are good, we are just waiting a little bit.
“We have a few tests in the next few days and then we will see how the injury is, and what the next steps will be.”
Alcaraz though has said he will not risk his long-term future just to play in Roland Garros.
“We have a very long career ahead, many years to come; forcing myself in this Roland Garros could harm me a lot for the future. So as I said, we’ll see how things go in the test and then we’ll decide based on that.”
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